


The Earth Speaks to All of Us, and If We Listen, We Can Understand.

by hobbit_hedgehog



Category: Haikyuu!!, 天空の城ラピュタ | Tenkuu no Shiro Laputa | Laputa: Castle in the Sky
Genre: Castle in the Sky AU, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Studio Ghibli
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-03
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-01-28 23:44:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 34,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12618244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hobbit_hedgehog/pseuds/hobbit_hedgehog
Summary: Michimiya Yui is heading back to work one evening when she discovers a mysterious girl with a glowing necklace falling from the sky.  The two vow to unravel the mystery of the glowing necklace and its connection to the mytical castle island, Laputa, but in order to do so, they must surpass air pirates, shady government agencies, and obstacles the likes which they have never seen.A Castle in the Sky AU





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Y'all, you have no idea how excited I am to bring this to you. I've been working on this since June, and I am so excited to finally start posting it! I'll be posting updates every two weeks, you have my word!
> 
> A huge thanks to [En](https://yaoyoroses.tumblr.com) and [Star](http://starlity.tumblr.com) for all of their hard work and support on this fic. I would have been so lost without the two of you, I really appreciate all you've done for me!
> 
> As always, comments, kudos and bookmarks mean the world to me. I hope you enjoy reading this fic as much as I've enjoyed writing it. Have fun!
> 
> Edit: The amazing [Starlity](http://starlity.tumblr.com/post/167097975042/the-earth-speaks-to-all-of-us-and-if-we-listen) drew some gorgeous art for this chapter! It is absolutely gorgeous, I love it so much! Thank you, Star!  
> 

It was—much like the age old cliché—a dark, cloudy night.  It wasn’t the ideal night for travel, but it was perfect for airships trying to remain hidden.  One such ship, a canvas airship in the shape of a crow, was currently picking its way through the gigantic Altocumulus clouds.  A sudden alarm sounded, the blaring screech impossibly loud in the otherwise still night, and men dressed in orange and black rushed to the front of the airship.  At the front of the pack were two men, one with short cropped black hair and one with silver hair.  They gathered at the front of the ship and spotted their prey.  It was a large zeppelin, a standard passenger ship, and it was several hundred meters away.

"What do you think, Koushi, is that the one?" the man with the short hair asked the other.

The other man, Koushi, gave a curt nod. "That's the one, Daichi.  I saw Oikawa and the girl get on that zeppelin."

Daichi nodded.  He gestured for the others gathered to make for the back of the back of the airship.  The men ran to their stations, a group of them peeling off to climb two apiece onto crow shaped flyers.  A taller man with sandy hair and glasses pulled a lever near the back.  The back of the ship swung open, and one by one the crow flyers dropped out of the back of the ship.  There were eight in total, including Daichi and Koushi.  The other six included a large man with a beard, a shorter man with a dyed hair streak, a bald haired man with a grin like a shark's, a tired looking man, a kinder looking bald man, and a man with sandy blond hair.  Together, they approached the zeppelin, their flyers barely making a sound over the high altitude-wind.

Aboard the zeppelin, in a private cabin secluded from the rest of the passengers, sat a man with perfectly styled brown hair and a dark haired teenage girl with glasses.  The girl was refusing to make eye contact with anyone, forcing herself to stare out the window instead.  The man didn't seem to mind, as he was engaged in conversation with several others as they ate dinner.  One man with short, spiky black hair offered the girl a plate of food, which she ignored.

"Leave her be, Iwa-chan," the man with brown hair called.  "If she doesn't want to eat, we can't make her."

With a shrug, the man turned away from the girl and sat back down.  The girl continued to stare out the window, watching as the moon came out from behind the cloud.  Something caught her eye: four black dots were rapidly approaching the zeppelin, getting bigger and they drew closer.  The girl let out a soft gasp–they were pirates, and they were armed.

Koushi pulled up alongside the cabin window and flashed the assembled group a wide grin while Daichi waved a gun.  

“Oikawa,” Iwaizumi muttered.

The brown haired man, Oikawa, snarled.  “They found us.”

Koushi pulled the flyer up along the side the zeppelin.  He stabilized the flyer next to the bridge, and Daichi fired a shot through the porthole.  The shell exploded, filling the room with gas.  Using the chaos as a cover, the other pirates landed on the roof, dropping off the man with the bun, the man with the shark grin, and the man with the dyed hair.  The three rushed two of the zeppelin's sailors and knocked them back into the entry hatch they had opened.  The trio ran forward, with Daichi not far behind.

"Asahi, Ryuu, Yuu!" Daichi called.  "The first and only priority is the crystal!  Nothing else matters!"

"You got it, boss!" the man named Yuu called over his shoulder as he slammed another sailor out of the way.

Daichi, Asahi, and Ryuu took a sharp turn and ran down a set of nearby stairs.  They found themselves in a large dining room.  Daichi and Ryuu ran ahead, leaving Asahi behind to wait for Yuu.  Daichi found the door to the private cabins, and with a wide grin, kicked it open.  He and Ryuu ran inside, only to be rebuffed moments later by gunfire.  The men from the private cabin had emptied the furniture into the hallway and were using it as a barricade.

Oikawa shots of his own before retreating to the safety of the doorframe.  He barked out a quick,"Hold them off!" before closed he the door and locked it.  Turning, Oikawa addressed the girl at the table, "Kiyoko, stay out of the way and you won't get hurt."  Oikawa crossed the room to a briefcase on a shelf.  He opened it and activated a built-in radio set.  Using the telegraph key, Oikawa began broadcasting an SOS message.  He was completely absorbed in his work.  Kiyoko was free to act.

Kiyoko turned her attention to the debris on the floor, remnants of the makeshift barricade the men had set up outside.  With one eye on her captor, Kiyoko reached down to grab an empty wine bottle.  As quietly as she could, Kiyoko tiptoed around the debris towards Oikawa.  Her knuckles were white, strained from how hard she was gripping the bottle.  Trembling, she lifted the bottle and brought it down on Oikawa’s head.  He crumpled to the floor.  By some small miracle, the bottle hadn’t shattered in Kiyoko’s hand.  

Outside the room, several loud shouts and even louder booms filled the hallway.  Kiyoko stared wide-eyed at the door before returning her attention to the unconscious man before her.  She reached into his blazer and removed a crystal on a string, tying it around her neck as someone began to pound on the door.

"Hurry up!  Break the door down!" Daichi called.

Kiyoko's heart began to race; she couldn't escape out the door.  She ran to the other side of the room and pried the window open.  It wasn't the safest idea she'd ever had, but it would have to do given her current circumstances.  She quickly put her glasses in her dress pocket, deciding she'd rather not see should she plummet to her death.  The wind buffeted Kiyoko as she crawled out through the window.  She gripped the windowsill tight and squeezed her eyes shut, resisting the urge to both look down and crawl back inside.  Slowly, she inched her way to the left, disappearing out of sight as the pirates broke the door down.  Daichi, Ryuu, Asahi, and Noya raced into the room.  Daichi stooped to check Oikawa's pockets while the others looked for Kiyoko.  Ryuu spotted the open window and stuck his head outside.

"Alrghty, where'd she go?" Ryuu muttered.  He turned his head and made eye contact with Kiyoko.  "There you are!  I found her, she's hiding out here!"

Kiyoko shuffled away faster, her hair whipping her in the face as she went.

"Don't let her go!" Daichi commanded, leaning out the window as well.

"I got her!" Ryuu shouted back, making a grab for Kiyoko. He missed, nearly falling out of the window.  Daichi grabbed Ryuu by the scruff of his neck and hauled him backwards.  "Don't let go!"

"I've got you!" Daichi shouted over the rush of the wind.  Daichi looked over his shoulder at Asahi and yelled, "She's wearing the crystal, go get her!"

Asahi rushed out of the room as Kiyoko pulled herself up using the windowsill of the adjacent cabin.  Kicking the door open, Asahi rushed inside while Kiyoko tried and failed to force the window open.  They stared at each other momentarily, both wide-eyed and breathing hard.  Asahi rushed forward to grab Kiyoko.  She didn't have time to think.  She felt her feet slip against the cold metal of the zeppelin at the same time she lost her grip on the windowsill.  Time slowed, then sped up.  Asahi shouted in surprise as Kiyoko dropped from the airship, plummeting to the earth below.  The last things Kiyoko processed before she slipped into unconsciousness were Daichi screaming about the crystal, her own screams of fear, and how the rush of the wind seemed to grow quieter as her crystal became brighter.

***

Far below the clouds lay a small mining town nestled into a lush, green valley.  For as late as it was, the town was awake, with lights in every window and the streets filled with bustle and chatter.  One restaurant was particularly busy, with a line of people out the door.  At the front of the line stood a girl with short brown hair and wide eyes.  Her clothes were covered in soot and dirt, the telltale signs of a miner.  She approached the counter and grinned at the man behind it.

"Hello Ukai!" she greeted with a smile.  She place a bag on the counter, "I need some meat buns for the boss, please!"

The blond man behind the counter, Ukai, nodded.  He grabbed the bag off the counter and turned to load it with meat buns.  "You're sure working late tonight, Yui," he commented.

Yui laughed as she took the bag and paid. "Yeah, no kidding!  Things are finally busy for a change!"

"Well don't get stuck down there," Ukai warned.  "You don't want to end up like my grandfather."

Yui laughed again, "I won't!  They don't even let me down into the mine."

Ukai waved her off, turning to his next customer.  Yui left the shop, ducking past other customers as she headed back out into the night.  She picked her way through the busy streets and found herself out on the road back to the mine.  It was a nice night out, in Yui's opinion.  There were clouds obscuring the heavens, but every so often, the moon and stars would peak out and twinkle brightly before cloud cover returned.  Yui liked these kinds of nights.  Humming to herself, Yui kept up a steady pace down the road until something in the sky caught her eye.  She slowed to a halt and stared up in wonder: a bright, teal green light was slowly, but surely descending through the sky.

"What is that?" Yui whispered to herself.

Without a second thought, Yui ran towards the light.  She ran past dilapidated mining houses and misused railroad tracks covered in weeds.  Yui stumbled several times, but not once did she take her eyes off the glowing light.  Something about the glow drew Yui in, like a siren song pulling Yui to her doom.  Luckily for Yui, the falling light seemed to be falling towards the mine.  As Yui drew closer, she realized that the light was surrounding something.  Something that Yui vaguely recognized as a…

"That looks like a body!" Yui exclaimed, surging forward.

In no time at all, Yui reached the edge of the mine.  She skidded to a halt, almost toppling over as her heels dug into the earth.  She pinwheeled her arms to remain upright.  Having stopped herself from plummeting headfirst into the mine, Yui took a deep breath and ran forward.  The glow was weaker now, but Yui could clearly see the body of a girl her own age.  The girl had black hair, and she didn't seem to be moving.  

Yui ran towards a pulley system that had been built over the center of the mine, her own safety an afterthought as she sprinted over the narrow metal beam.  She made it to the platform as the girl hovered a couple meters above the edge.  Yui tripped again and she shrieked as she almost fell into the pit, but she managed to keep her balance.  Taking a deep breath and setting her boss’s dinner to the side, Yui held out her arms to catch the slowly descending girl, and watched as she drifted into her arms.

The unconscious girl felt feather light, something that Yui hadn't really expected.  And she was warm, which was good.  Yui assumed body heat meant she was still alive.  It briefly crossed Yui’s mind that the girl was too beautiful to be human, too ethereal, and Yui blushed hard at the thought.  She shook her head, and returned her attention to the glow.  It seemed to be be coming from the crystal hanging from the girl’s necklace.  Yui watched as it grew dimmer and dimmer until suddenly, it vanished.  Yui had a moment to process the situation before suddenly the girl went limp in Yui's arms.

Right.  Deadweight.

Yui felt the combination of the girl's weight and gravity drag the pair downward towards the mine.  Straining and puffing, Yui slowly lifted the girl back out of the mine until she could stand up as straight as the girl’s weight would allow.  She shuffled her way back to a thicker, sturdier part of the platform.  Once she was confident that neither would fall and hurt themselves, Yui gently placed the girl back down.  That had been tougher than expected.

Yui took a moment to breathe before a voice shouted from the mine, "Michimiya!  What are you doing up there?"

Yui jumped and looked over the edge of the platform.  Her boss, a large man by the name of Mister Bokuto was shoveling coal into a furnace.  He paused to look up at her.

Yui called back, "Boss listen!  This girl came down from the sky!"

Yui knew that Mister Bokuto didn't hear her, as one of the pipes started to gush steam from a place it shouldn’t.  Mister Bokuto ran to loosen a nearby valves as Yui pulled off her vest to cover the unconscious girl.  Yui grabbed her boss's food and climbed down a rickety ladder into the mine.

"Boss, listen," Yui said as she skidded to a halt next to Mister Bokuto, "a girl came down from the sky, and-."

Yui was interrupted as another piece of machinery began to whistle loudly.  Her boss ran off again.  Sighing to herself, Yui set the food down and grabbed a pair of heavy duty work gloves.  It was going to be a long night if they kept having engineering problems.  One the wall, a bell began to ring.

"Michimiya, I need you to go run the hoist while I fix this!" Mister Bokuto called.

Yui sprang into action.  She sat down in front of a pair of levers and a large spool of cable.  She grabbed one of the levers and pulled.  The pulley system above rattled to life, shaking violently as the old machinery worked.  Yui stole a glance at the girl on the platform, but she didn't move.  Returning her attention to her work, Yui pulled the brake, allowing the lift to come to a slow stop at the top.  

Yui relaxed back in her seat as the miners discussed the day's haul.  The consensus seemed that there was nothing to be found.  With a grumble, Mister Bokuto and the others packed up and left for the night, leaving Yui in charge of shutting down the machinery.  Yui watched as the miners vanished into the darkness of the nearby exit tunnel before returning her attention to the unconscious girl in the platform.  Yui scratched her head; it really was going to be a long night.

***

Thousands of kilometers up in the air, Daichi and Koushi stood on the deck of their airship, the _Karasuno_.  They watched as one by one, the crow shaped flyers returned to the ship.  Asahi and Kinoshita, the man with the sandy hair, pulled up next to the deck.

"Daichi, Koushi, it's no use, let's call it off!" Asahi shouted over the wind.  "There's too much cloud coverage, it's too dark!"

"What?" Koushi shouted back, unable to hear Asahi over the rush of wind.

Asahi misunderstood Koushi’s tone.  Jolting a bit, he backtracked, "I mean, don't worry, I'll find her!"

Daichi cut in, "We'll all find her."  Peering down into the darkness below, Daichi muttered, “She can’t hide that crystal from us forever.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kiyoko comes to in an unknown cottage. Yui tells her about Laputa.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Friday folks, chapter 2 is here! I am blown away by the amount of support this fic has received already. To everyone who took the time to read, comment, kudos, subscribe, you all are amazing. I really appreciate that you all took even a little interest in my au, so thank you all so, so much! Chapter 3 will be posted in two weeks on December 1st! Also note: I've bumped the chapter listings up to 10! Chapter 5 got away from me a bit, so I split it in two. As always, a huge thanks to En for betaing the chapter.
> 
> Enjoy!

Pale sunlight shone through the window of Yui’s cabin, filling the interior with a gentle light.  One of the beams fell across Yui’s face and she stirred.  Blinking herself awake, Yui registered the multiple sore spots on her body.  Work hadn't been too particularly taxing the night before, but her arms felt heavier than usual, her back stiff.  It registered to Yui's sleep-addled mind that she wasn't in her bed.  She had slept on the floor.

With a groan and a stretch, Yui sat up to survey the room.  She had spent the night on a bedroll with her father’s old jacket substituting for a blanket.  On the other side of the room, the mysterious girl from the night before was tucked under the covers on Yui's bed.  Yui could see the gentle rise and fall of her chest.  Yui sighed with relief; the girl wasn't dead.

 _'Well, time to greet the new day,_ ' Yui thought.  As quietly as she could, she stood and climbed the ladder onto the roof, tool belt in tow.

***

_Kiyoko was falling.  The wind roared around her as the zeppelin grew smaller and smaller before disappearing behind the clouds entirely.  Almost as an afterthought to her situation, she reached a hand into her pocket and gripped her glasses tightly to keep them from falling out of her pocket.  It was a silly notion, really, considering she wouldn't live to use them again.  How much longer would it be before she hit the ground?  Minutes?  Seconds?  Kiyoko squeezed her eyes shut._

_There was a pull in Kiyoko's chest.  A voice was calling to her, a gentle voice that repeated a name over and over again._

_Laputa._

A beam of sunlight pulled Kiyoko into the realm of consciousness.  Her initial reaction was amazement that she was still alive.  Her second reaction was the dawning realization that she was too comfortable to be lying in a field somewhere.  With a start, Kiyoko bolted upright.  Her fingers sought out the crystal; it was still there.  Kiyoko relaxed, but only marginally.  She was in someone's bed, in someone's home, but everything was too blurry to make out details.  Kiyoko frantically patted the pockets of her dress, but her glasses were not where she left them.  Panicked, Kiyoko swung  her legs off the side of the bed.  She had to find her glasses.  She placed her hand on the nightstand next to the bed to leverage herself to her feet, and her hand brushed against something metal.  Kiyoko moved her hand and squinted.  There were her glasses, temples folded and sitting neatly on the nightstand.  Kiyoko plucked her glasses from the wooden stand and slipped them onto her face.

With her vision restored, Kiyoko surveyed the room.  The room was small, but the various sets of ladders told Kiyoko that wherever she was had multiple floors.  A large, brick tower of sorts filled the majority of the room.  There was a table with two chairs, a handful of pictures nailed into the wooden walls, a lantern, and a coal stove with an orange kettle sitting on top.  All in all, it was a quaint home.  Cluttered, but quaint.

' _I wonder who lives here_ ,' Kiyoko thought as she stared out the window, her fingers absentmindedly playing with the crystal.

The distant sounds of footsteps drew Kiyoko's attention.  They were coming from the roof.  Kiyoko climbed out of bed, slipped her shoes on, and made her way to the ladder that led to the roof.  Kiyoko paused at the base; she'd be lying if she said she wasn't nervous.  Kiyoko had no idea who lived in this house or what sort of person they'd be.

' _Well, whoever it is, they did save me_ ,' Kiyoko mused.  ' _Surely they can't be that bad._ '

With a nod of determination, Kiyoko climbed the rickety wooden ladder.  She poked her head through the hatch in the roof.  The sight that greeted her made her gasp in surprise.  The cabin was at the top of a hill overlooking a lush valley of emerald green.  Early morning sunlight illuminated everything with a warm glow, giving everything it touched a soft yellow tint.  The village ran along the edge of a nearby cliff, the buildings arranged in two curved rows that hugged what Kiyoko assumed was the main road.  Squinting, Kiyoko could just make out the outlines of buildings built into the adjacent cliff faces.  White doves flew in groups around chimney stacks.  Kiyoko hadn’t seen such a picturesque view in a long time.

Kiyoko was partway through pulling herself out when someone called out, "Hello!"  She turned her head towards the source of the voice.  Standing at the top of the brick tower was a girl no older than Kiyoko.  Kiyoko took a moment to survey the girl above her.  The girl was wearing sturdy brown boots, patched pants with a tool belt, a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and a simple brown vest.  The girl's short brown hair was partially concealed by a yellow hat, and she had the brightest, most infectious smile that Kiyoko had ever seen.  Kiyoko found herself smiling in return, a slight blush rising to her cheeks.

"Sorry if I woke you up, I was doing some repairs," the girl called.  "How are you feeling?"

Kiyoko smiled and pulled herself fully onto the roof.  She had no time to orient herself before the girl had climbed down from the tower and pulled Kiyoko's hands into her own.  The girl gave Kiyoko’s hands a quick shake as she introduced herself, "My name's Yui."

' _Yui_ ,' Kiyoko thought, ' _that's a pretty name._ '

"I'm glad to see you're doing alright," Yui was saying.  "I gotta admit, you had me worried.  It's not every night I catch someone falling from the sky.  I thought that maybe you were an angel or something!"

Despite herself, Kiyoko let out a soft giggle.  "Thank you very much for saving me," Kiyoko said.  "And I'm sorry for worrying you.  My name is Kiyoko."

The smile on Yui's face grew bigger.  "Kiyoko," she said almost reverently, "what a beautiful name."

The two gazed at each other for a long moment.  Yui’s stare was trancelike, Kiyoko was very much aware that Yui was still holding her hands.  Yui seemed to realize this as well and, with a start, dropped Kiyoko's hands.

"So anyway!" Yui half shouted, her face the color of a ripened tomato.  "I had to catch you.  You were just sort of floating and I uh…"

Kiyoko's eyes widened in shock.  "Floating?" she asked.

“Yeah, floating!  Weird, right?  A human, floating!” Yui rambled.  “Do you remember floating?”

"Well, I remember an airship, but I don’t really remember anything else."

"That's all you remember?" Yui pressed.

Kiyoko nodded, "I'm not sure how I survived."

Yui hummed, her brow furrowing as she processed Kiyoko's words.  After a moment, she snapped her fingers.  "I think I may have an idea about that.  May I see your necklace for a second?"

"This?" Kiyoko asked as she held up the crystal.  Yui nodded and Kiyoko slipped the necklace from around her neck.  "My grandmother gave it to me," Kiyoko explained as she passed the necklace to Yui. "It's been in my family for generations."

Yui gave the necklace a quick inspection.  The chain was nothing special, just a simple gold chain with a clasp.  The crystal, however, was a sight to behold.  It was a deep blue, but as Yui tilted it in her hand, she could see flecks of teal sparkle underneath the surface.  In the middle of the crystal a symbol had been carved.  It had the vague shape of a humanoid with two wing-like appendages sprouting from either side of the figure.  It really was quite lovely, in Yui's opinion.

"It's beautiful," Yui murmured.  

Yui slipped the chain around her neck and tried to clasp it in the back.  After watching her struggle for a moment, Kiyoko took the two ends of the chain from Yui's hands.  Ignoring the way their hands brushed together, Kiyoko clasped the two ends of the chain together and took a step back.

Yui flashed Kiyoko another wide grin, "Thanks!"  Yui moved to the edge of the cabin's roof, and smiled at Kiyoko over her shoulder.  "Get a load of this!  Here I go!"  Yui spread her arms and jumped off the roof.  She instantly plummeted towards the ground with a shriek.

Kiyoko let out a loud gasp as the sounds of crashing and crumbling brick reached her ears.  Running to the edge of the roof, she looked down.  There was a Yui-sized hole in the brick walkway in front of the cabin.  "Yui!  Are you all right?" Kiyoko called.

There was no response.

Panicked, Kiyoko made her way down from the roof.  She made it to the brick path as Yui pulled herself up out of the hole with only minor scrapes and bruises.  Yui giggled and held the crystal out to Kiyoko.  "Maybe I had the wrong idea about the necklace."

Kiyoko took the necklace back from Yui, but before she could help the other girl back up, the bricks supporting Yui crumbled.  With another screech, Yui plummeted back down into the hole.  Kiyoko winced in sympathy at the resounding crash.  She poked her head into the hole to find Yui groaning on top of a pile of rubble.  She had broken through to the basement of the cabin.  Kiyoko put on the necklace and climbed into the hole.  She had made it as far as Yui had when the bricks gave out on her.  She dropped into the basement with a shout of her own.  It was a short drop, and Kiyoko landed soundly on top of Yui.  The pair groaned in unison.

Kiyoko rolled off of Yui and helped her sit up.  "I am so sorry, Yui," Kiyoko said.  "Are you okay?  Does it hurt much?"

Yui rubbed the back of her head and gave Kiyoko a sheepish look, "Yeah, don't worry.  I'm fine.  It’d take a lot more than a couple of falls to do me in!"

The pair pulled themselves out of the rubble.  Yui directed Kiyoko over to a nearby sink to wash up while Yui made breakfast.  Kiyoko watched as Yui climbed the ladder back up to the main level of the cabin before turning to examine the room.  In the center of the room stood the bare skeleton of a single rider airship.  Kiyoko made a quick circuit around it, giving it a brief inspection before examining the nearby workbench.  It was nothing special, just a simple, wooden workbench with a red book resting on the corner.  

What caught Kiyoko’s attention were the pictures on the wall above the bench.  There were several, and they were all in black and white.  There was one of an airship, a balloon attached to a long base with propellers on the back.  A smaller picture of a man that looked just like Yui had been placed in the corner.  There was also a picture of a woman that Kiyoko guessed to be Yui's mother.  Kiyoko studied their faces before turning to the last picture.  It was a photo of a multitier castle partially covered by clouds.  Kiyoko would have brushed it off as a normal castle, were it not for two details.  One, the castle appeared to be floating.  Two, a familiar name had been scrawled along the bottom of the picture.

"Laputa," Kiyoko whispered.

Yui's voice came from behind Kiyoko, "My father took that picture from an airship.  He loved to fly."  Kiyoko spun around, an apology already forming on her lips, but Yui shook her head with a reassuring smile.  She gestured towards the picture, "That's Laputa, the floating island."

"An island that floats in the sky?" Kiyoko asked.

Yui nodded, "Most people think it's just a legend, but my dad actually saw it.  This is a picture of his airship."  Yui tapped the first picture had examined.

Kiyoko pointed at the picture of Laputa, "How did he get this picture?"

"It was a complete accident," Yui explained.  "My dad and a friend of his were out flying one day when they got caught in a sudden storm.  My dad steered the ship against powerful wind and rain until they broke through to the eye of the storm.  The clouds were swirling in a way my dad had never seen before, one level would spin in a different direction from another.  Suddenly, there it was."  

Yui paused for effect.  "It looked like a castle just floating in the sky.  He said it was the most amazing thing he'd ever seen.  He took this picture just before the clouds could cover it again.  It was the only picture he could take.  But take a look at this, Kiyoko!"

Yui picked up the book, flipping through it until she found the page she wanted.  "My dad kept a journal and made all sorts of drawings of Laputa.  Here it is."  Yui pointed to the drawing at the top of the page.  It was Laputa, unobscured by cloud cover and floating over a field.  Yui turned more pages, revealing more drawings.  "He drew the castle, and what he thought the people looked like.  He was sure the castle was filled with treasure, but nobody believed him.  They called him a liar."

Yui’s expression darkened.  she handed the book to Kiyoko, and grabbed a small scale replica of the airship in the center of the room.  As Yui twisted a key on the back, its wings began to flutter.  Yui tossed it into the air.  The mini airship flew across the room before touching down gently on the brick covered floor.  Yui turned back to Kiyoko with a determined look.

"I'm gonna prove that my father was no liar, Kiyoko," Yui said.  "As soon as I'm done building that airship, I'm gonna take off and go find Laputa myself."

Kiyoko smiled at Yui's proclamation.  "I'm sure you'll be able to find it," she said.

Yui returned the smile and was about to respond when an unfamiliar sound reached her ears.  Confused, Yui and Kiyoko raced to the window in time to watch a green automobile pull to a stop at the top of the drive.  

"Wow, a real automobile!" Yui exclaimed.  "You don't see many of those around here!"

Two men, one with short black hair and one with silver hair, leaned out of the car and surveyed the area.  Yui didn't recognize the men inside, but the small gasp that Kiyoko emitted told Yui everything she needed to know about these men.   Kiyoko knew them, and she was scared of them.

"Kiyoko, who are they?" Yui pressed.

"Those people are pirates," Kiyoko whispered.  "They're the ones who attacked the airship."

Kiyoko and Yui watched as two men climbed out of the back of the automobile, one wearing a white suit, the other in purple, both looking incredibly out of place for a small countryside village.  The two men made their way down the drive, heading straight for Yui's cabin.  Kiyoko shrank back from the window, Yui knew she had to act fast.

"They're probably after you," Yui whispered.  "Come with me, I have a plan."

***

Tanaka Ryuunosuke was not having a good morning.  They had been so close to getting the crystal the night before, _so close_.  If only he had reached a little farther, he could have grabbed the girl and pulled her back inside.  They could have been halfway to finding that floating castle Daichi was always going on about.  Then again, maybe not.  If Daichi hadn't grabbed him… Ryuu shuddered at the thought. 

When they had escaped back to the _Karasuno_ , Tsukishima told them he witnessed a sudden, mysterious light erupt from what appeared to be a falling body.  Encouraged by the news, Daichi and Sugawara had ordered the flyers to go back out and search.  When that failed, Daichi and Sugawara brought them down to the surface to continue the search.  Piled into a cramped automobile and dressed in ill-fitting clothes, they left the safety of the _Karasuno_ and made their way towards the Podunk mining village.   Daichi and Sugawara had almost passed on the house at the end of the lane, but at the last moment, Daichi told Kinoshita to let Ryuu and Chikara off.

"Check that house fast, then meet us in town," Daichi told them before the rest of the crew drove off.

Ryuu grumbled to himself, adjusting the white top hat on his head as he and Chikara stomped down the dusty lane.  He paused at the base of the brick stairs.  "You head down that way," he whispered to Chikara, pointing to where the stairs broke off from the path.  "See if there's another way inside."

Chikara nodded.  He pulled his bowler hat low over his face and ran.  Once Chikara was out of sight, Ryuu made his way up the brick stairs.  He cautiously stepped around a sizeable hole in the bricks and stopped in front of the door.  He adjusted his too clean white jacket and the bowtie around his neck as he schooled his expression into something friendlier.

' _Smile, Ryuu_ ,' he thought, ' _it's show time._ '

Ryuu raised his fist to knock.  The door burst open with enough force to make Ryuu jump backwards.  Two teenage girls raced from the house hand-in-hand, giggling as they went.  Ryuu spun on his heel and shouted, "Hey!  Hold it right there!  Wait up, wait up!"

The pair stopped.  Ryuu quickly appraised the pair.  The first girl turned and smiled at Ryuu.  She had short brown hair, and was dressed in miner's clothing with a bag slung over her shoulder.  The second girl, who was hanging back behind the other, had short dark hair, and had on a large brown coat.  Neither looked like the girl Ryuu was after.  "What can I help you with, mister?" the first girl asked.

Ryuu scowled at her; he wasn't that much older than this girl.  Why was she calling him " _mister_ "?  Catching himself, Ryuu smiled at the girls, "Question for you, have you seen a girl around here?  She'd be about your age."

The first girl scrunched up her face, "Let me see now…. There are a lot of us teenage girls in this town!  Which one are you looking for?"

"She's about your height, black hair, glasses," Ryuu described.  "Moles on her face."

"Sorry, that doesn't really narrow it down," the girl said.  "Maybe someone in town could help!"

"Thank for nothing," Ryuu growled.  "That's real helpful."

The girl laughed, "You're welcome!  Bye!"

Ryuu watched as the two raced up the drive.  He resisted the urge to shout in frustration, he still had a job to do.

"Tanaka!" Chikara shouted from the bottom of the path.  Ryuu looked over the edge as Chikara ran into view.  Chikara held up the navy dress the girl had been wearing the night before.  "Tanaka!  Go tell Daichi and Sugawara!  She's in disguise!"

Ryuu glanced over his shoulder; the two girls had made it to the top of the lane and were now sprinting towards the village.  "So, she's in disguise, huh," Ryuu mused.  He turned back to Chikara, "Go tell Daichi and Sugawara!"

Chikara made a noise of protest, but Ryuu had already taken off.  He was going after those girls.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Team, happy December! Chapter 3 is here, and I am super excited for this one because this chapter contains some of my favorite scenes. As always, a huge thanks to En (yaoyoroses on tumblr) for the beta. I really appreciate all the hard work you put into helping me make this fic the best it can be. And a huge thanks to everyone who has left kudos, commented, and subscribed. You guys are amazing. The next update will be on December 15th, and I hope to see you all there. Enjoy!

"They are definitely after you, Kiyoko," Yui stated once she and Kiyoko were out of earshot of Ryuu.

It had been a scramble to hide Kiyoko from the pirates, but luckily, Yui and Kiyoko were almost the same size, with Kiyoko being marginally taller.  They pieced together an outfit in a flash, resulting in a tomboyish-looking Kiyoko.  Hopefully, it had been enough to fool the pirate.  They were a little more than halfway to the village by now, and Yui had no idea how long their lead would last.  She had been aware that leaving Kiyoko's dress would be a massive tip-off, but Yui needed to get her out of the cabin as quickly as possible.

"Do you think he recognized me?" Kiyoko asked, slowing to pull her glasses from a pocket in the jacket.

"I have no idea," Yui admitted.  "Hopefully he didn't."

"What are we going to do?"

"I'm taking you to my boss's house," Yui said.  "If anyone can help, it'll be Mister Bokuto and Mister Akaashi."

"HEY, YOU!"

Yui glanced over her shoulder and squeaked—Ryuu was chasing them, and he was gaining on them fast.

"Go faster!" Yui shouted.

Kiyoko reached back, grabbing Yui's hand and surging forward.  Yui stumbled, but kept her balance as she and Kiyoko sprinted into town.  Yui heard cursing and the pounding of footsteps grow louder; the pirate was in hot pursuit.

"We can lose him when we find my boss, just keep moving!"

The shock of the ground transitioning from dirt road to cobblestone jarred Kiyoko and Yui.  Kiyoko dropped Yui's hand, but neither slowed.  Yui's legs burned.  Her breath came in short gasps, but she couldn't stop.  She had to get Kiyoko to safety.  She  _ had  _ to.

"Hey, hey, hey, I know you two are in a rush, but I'm telling you, I haven't seen her," came the booming voice of Mister Bokuto.

Yui gasped.  Mister Bokuto was standing outside his house, along with Mister Akaashi and their nephew Shouyou.  And flanking them were two men in white suits, one tall with his hair pulled back in a tight bun, the other short with an odd streak in his hair.

"Boss!" Yui screamed.  "Boss!"

One of the pirates, the man with the bun, turned to look at Yui and Kiyoko.  "She'd be about the age of those two," he commented.

Yui and Kiyoko were almost upon them when the horrifically predictable happened—Kiyoko's foot caught on a loose cobblestone.  She staggered forward, a hand flying to her face to keep her glasses from falling.  In the process, her hat went flying.  Kiyoko's loose hair cascaded around her shoulders and she fell into Yui's waiting arms.  Kiyoko pushed herself up, running to grab the hat.

"Asahi, there she is!" the shorter man shouted.

"Yuu, Asahi!" Ryuu shouted from the top of the street.  "Don't let her get away!"

Yui grabbed Kiyoko's hand and sprinted towards Mister Bokuto's house.  The men, Asahi and Yuu, ran towards them, hoping to intercept the pair.  They leapt at Kiyoko as Yui pulled the other girl down.  The pirates hit the ground as Yui and Kiyoko slid to a halt in front of Mister Bokuto.

"Nice landing, Michimiya," Mister Bokuto remarked.

Yui leapt to her feet, dragging Kiyoko with her.  "Boss!  They're pirates!  They're after her!"

Mister Bokuto regarded Kiyoko before pushing both girls behind him.  Yuu and Asahi helped each other up as Ryuu skidded to a halt next to them.  The trio formed a line, glaring daggers at Mister Bokuto.  Mister Bokuto puffed up his chest and glared back.  Emboldened, Yui took a step forward and did the same.

"Pirates!?" Shouyou yelled from the doorway.  "Uncle Keiji, I wanna help Uncle Koutarou fight the pirates!"

Without a second thought, Mister Akaashi ushered Kiyoko and Shouyou inside.  When Yui didn't immediately follow, he reached back outside, grabbed her by the shirt collar and pulled her inside.  The door slammed shut as Mister Bokuto said, "You can stop right there, my friends."

"Think you're tough, don't you?" the man named Yuu asked.

"I'm tough enough," came Mister Bokuto's response.

"We'll see about that," Ryuu threatened.

"You’ve messed with my worker," Mister Bokuto snapped, his voice drifting through the door.  “If you mess with Michimiya, you’ve messed with me.”

"Yui, I need you to take your friend and leave out the back," Mister Akaashi whispered.  "Koutarou and I will take care of them."

"But I want to help you and Mister Bokuto!" Yui exclaimed.

Mister Akaashi shook his head. "I called Kuroo when the pirates first arrived, and he should be here any minute.  Chances are he'll have Kozume, Taketora, Morisuke, Nobuyuki, and Fukunaga with him.  Besides, you need to go with your friend.  You know these streets, she doesn't."

After a moment, Yui nodded.  She grasped Kiyoko's hand and ran for the back door.  Mister Akaashi watched them go before ushering Shouyou upstairs.  Satisfied, he stepped back outside.  Just as he thought, Kuroo had shown up with his crew and had surrounded his husband and the pirates.  Mister Akaashi leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms, watching the proceedings.

"Why don't you get out of our way?" Yuu hissed, glaring up at Mister Bokuto.

Mister Bokuto sneered back, "Why don't you just try and make me?"

Yuu and Ryuu shared a look before pushing Asahi in front of them.  "Asahi, do the thing," Ryuu commanded.

Asahi threw him a panicked look.  "What thing?"

Ryuu glanced around the street, his gaze settling on a wooden bar table that had been placed outside a nearby restaurant.  He stomped over, glaring at its occupants until they left.  Ryuu lifted the table, and carried it back over to Asahi and Mister Bokuto.  He set it down and gestured to it.

"Arm wrestling, let's go."

Asahi whipped his head between the table and Mister Bokuto, who flashed him a wild grin.  "Ryuu, are you nuts?"

"Come on Asahi, show this guy who's tough!" Yuu cheered. 

Mister Bokuto stepped up to the table.  He rested his right elbow on the table, and gestured for Asahi to step up to the table, expectant.  Asahi backed away, only to be pushed back to the table by Ryuu and Yuu.  Accepting defeat, Asahi sighed.  Handing his hat and jacket to Yuu, he rested his elbow on the table, and grasped Mister Bokuto's hand.

"You can rest your other arm on the table, but you can only push with one hand," Mister Bokuto said.

"That's fair," Asahi replied.

"Ready," Ryuu said.

Asahi tensed.

"GO!"

The two pushed at the same time, coming to an immediate standstill.  The assembled crowd hollered, jeering at Asahi while showering praise upon Mister Bokuto.  Not to be outdone, Yuu and Ryuu screamed for Asahi's victory, jumping up and down as they hurled insults at Mister Bokuto.  It was slow going, neither gaining advantage long enough to make any headway.  As soon as their joined hands began to descend to one side, they were righted again.  Sweat trickled down Asahi's forehead, but he made no move to wipe it away.

Mister Bokuto grimaced as he pushed, sweat running down his cheek. "Hey, not bad!"

Mister Akaashi stared from the doorway, too focused on his husband's straining biceps to really pay attention to the match.

"Come on, Bo, show him what you're made of!" Kuroo cheered from the front of the crowd.

Mister Bokuto tightened his grip on Asahi's hand, and in that moment Asahi knew he was going to lose.  With a yell, Mister Bokuto slammed Asahi's hand down onto the table top, which splintered under the force of his hand.  Mister Bokuto crowed in victory as he released Asahi's hand, pumping his fists into the air as the crowd cheered.

"You're using your own money to buy Mister Ukai a new table, Koutarou," Mister Akaashi scolded him, stepping down from the doorway.

Distracted as he was by Mister Akaashi's reprimands, Mister Bokuto was unaware that Ryuu had moved.  His shoved the broken table aside, his fist slamming into Mister Bokuto's stomach.  The blow winded Mister Bokuto, but didn't knock him off his feet as Ryuu had hoped it would.  Sucking in air through the teeth of his forced grin, Mister Bokuto gripped Ryuu's shoulder.  Ryuu's eyes widened as a fist connected with his own diaphragm.  Without hesitation, he retaliated, slamming his fist into Mister Bokuto's face.  Mister Bokuto flew back into Kuroo and Taketora, who pushed him upright him and shoved him back towards Ryuu.

"Get him, Bo!" Kuroo shouted.

Chaos erupted the moment Mister Bokuto's fist connected with Ryuu's jaw.  No longer holding back, both Ryuu and Mister Bokuto exchanged blow after blow while Asahi and Yuu were jumped by Mister Akaashi, Kuroo and his crew.  Yuu whooped with joy, diving headfirst into the fray.  Asahi, on the other hand, was less than thrilled.

_ 'All this for a crystal? _ ' he thought as a fist glanced off the side of his face.  ' _ I'm going to have words with Daichi about this later. _ '

***

"What the hell is going on down there?" Daichi asked.  They had picked up Chikara and parked near the edge of a cliff to watch the others’ progress.  Once the telltale signs of shouting had reached their ears, Koushi had pulled a spyglass from his pocket and trained it on the village.

Koushi adjusted the focus on his spyglass.  "It appears that our boys have started a fight," he informed Daichi.

Daichi covered his face and groaned. "I'm gonna kill them.  Any sign of the girls?"

Koushi shook his head as he pivoted in his seat, training his spyglass on various points along the cliff face.  "Nothing yet… Wait… Wait, I see them!  They're heading towards the train tracks!"

Daichi spun to face Kinoshita and shouted, "Let's move it!  Before we lose them!"

***

It had been easy for Yui to sneak Kiyoko out the back door.  With Mister Bokuto and Mister Kuroo's distraction, everyone had flocked to the main street.  Yui was able to guide Kiyoko through the back streets and down to the main railroad that connected the various mining towns of the region.  If her timing was correct, they'd be able to catch the conductor’s train somewhere safe until Mister Bokuto and Mister Akaashi could find them.  Sure enough, as they raced across a rickety wooden platform towards the tracks, Yui could see Mister Takeda's train approaching.

"That's our ticket out of here," Yui told Kiyoko, scrambling up onto the tracks.  After helping Kiyoko up, Yui waved her arms and shouted over the clamor of the oncoming train, "Hey!  Mister Takeda!  Hey!"

If Mister Takeda gave any indication of hearing Yui, they missed it as the train chugged on by.  Yui grabbed Kiyoko's hand and chased after it.

"Kiyoko, we're going to have to jump on!" she shouted.  

Yui pushed Kiyoko ahead of her.  Kiyoko leapt, grasping a handle bar on the side of the nearest train car with an ease that astounded Yui.  She settled on a foothold on the cart and looked back at Yui expectantly.  Yui shook her head; it wasn’t an appropriate time to be ogling.  Yui jumped, landing practically on top of Kiyoko.  The two somehow kept their balance, laughing to themselves as they celebrated their victory.

"I can't believe that worked," Kiyoko gasped.

"Where did you learn to jump like that?" Yui asked.  "That was incredible!"

Kiyoko blushed.  "Years of practice."

Yui meant to ask a follow up question, but was interrupted by Mister Takeda shouting over the train's clamor.  "Yui!  Nice to see you two made it!  Sorry I couldn't slow down.  Who's your friend there?"

Yui climbed over the edge of the empty coal cart.  She hoisted Kiyoko in as well before addressing Mister Takeda.  "Her name is Kiyoko.  Pirates are after us, and I'm pretty sure it's the Sawamura gang.  We need to get somewhere safe.  Can you drop us off at the police station in the next town?"

"Leave it to me!" Mister Takeda said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose with determination.  "If you help me stoke up the engine, I'll get you two there in no time!"

Yui nodded in agreement.  She clambered into the engineering car, pushed her sleeves up, and grabbed the coal shovel.  She had work to do.

***

The riot on main street hadn't subsided by the time Daichi and others arrived.  In fact, it had only gotten worse.  Daichi indicated for Kinoshita to keep driving as he, Koushi, Chikara, and Narita fired several shots into the air.  Those on the edge of the mob stopped and backed away, allowing the automobile to pass through.  The crew continued to fire shots, scattering bystanders until they arrived at the center of the riot.  Standing back to back were Asahi, Ryuu, and Yuu.  They were looking worse for wear, bruises and torn clothes telling exactly what side of the fight they were on.

"Daichi!  Suga!" Asahi wailed, rushing to the automobile.

"Quick, climb on!" Koushi shouted.  "The girls made an escape!  Now, step on it!"

Without another word, the trio scrambled to climb into the already packed automobile.  Kinoshita took a brief moment to make sure everyone was secure before tearing off down the street.  The mob, no longer in danger of being run over, took off after the automobile.  Insults and debris alike were thrown at the back of the automobile, bouncing off the trunk and roof.  Asahi ducked as a potted plant whizzed by his head.

"Daichi, Suga, can't someone do something?" he shouted.

"On it!" Narita called, tossing a grenade from his place in the back seat.

The grenade clattered down the street before coming to a halt a short distance away from the mob.  Mister Bokuto, who had been leading the charge, skidded to a halt at the sight of the explosive.

"Back it up!" he screeched, barreling back down the way he had came.

The mob retreated just as the grenade detonated, leaving a decent sized crater in the street.  The pirates sped down the street, now in hot pursuit of Yui and Kiyoko.  They were so focused in their task, they didn't notice as Iwaizumi slipped quietly around a corner.

***

Sweat trickled down Yui's cheeks as she shoveled coal into the blazing furnace of the train.  They had managed to put a good distance between them and the fight on main street, but Yui wasn't sure it would be enough.  Kiyoko was hunkered down in the empty coal car, and had been silent for some time.  Yui wanted to comfort her, but she wasn't sure what to say.

Luckily—or rather unluckily, Yui wasn't sure—her own thoughts were interrupted by Mister Takeda's worried shouts.  "Yui, here they come!"

Yui stood to full attention.  Turning her head to where Mister Takeda was pointing, she could see the shape of the automobile racing down a narrow road, kicking up dust as it went.  The pirates were gaining on them fast.  Yui turned back to Mister Takeda. "Can't the engine go any faster?"

"I'm afraid this is the best she'll do," Mister Takeda apologized.  "She's old."

Yui groaned and flicked her eyes back to the automobile.  Despite being overcrowded, it accelerated quickly.  The automobile flew down the road until it was on the road running parallel to the train tracks.  Grinning, Kinoshita ran the car off of a train platform and onto the tracks.  There was a horrible crash and a screeching noise as tires met metal rails.  The pirates shifted to keep the car balanced on the tracks, and once they were stabilized, Kinoshita gunned the engine.  The automobile raced after the train, kicking up pieces of wooden track as it moved.  The pirates were jostled; a few looked like they were about to fall out of the automobile.  But the car didn't stop, and it was gaining on the train.  Once they were close enough, Koushi stood, loading his gun as he went.

"Increase the steam, they're gaining on us!" Mister Takeda shouted to Yui.

Yui took a deep breath, smacked her cheeks with both hands, and gave Mister Takeda a determined nod.  "Kiyoko!" she shouted.  "We need you in here, switch with me and keep the fire going!"

Kiyoko nodded.  She pulled herself into the engine car, whispering a quiet, "Do your best," to Yui as they traded spots.  Encouraged, Yui dropped down to the hitch between the engine car and the coal car.  She grasped the chain to the clasp and pulled.  It didn't budge.  Straining, Yui tugged with all her might.  She could feel the metal pinch the skin of her palms, but she kept tugging until finally, the clasp came loose.  Crowing triumphantly, Yui took a step back.  She grasped the window frame of the engine car and braced her feet against the coal car.  Yui brought her legs to her chest, and with a loud grunt, she kicked against the coal car, repeating the motion until the car moved back down the track, away from the engine car.  

The empty cars collided with the automobile, knocking the pirates off balance  Koushi tipped forward, setting his foot on the edge of the coal car to balance himself between it and the automobile.

"Koushi!" Daichi shouted.

"I’m fine!" Koushi called back.  "Kinoshita, floor it!"

"What?!"

"Do it!"

Kinoshita stepped on the gas, shooting the automobile and the coal cars forward.  Kiyoko pulled Yui into the engine car just before the coal cars slammed into the back of the engine car.  Koushi stumbled backwards this time, landing on top of Daichi.  Kiyoko trembled, her hands a vice on Yui's shoulders, but Yui wasn't done.  She pulled herself through the window of the engine car onto the first coal car.  She grasped the coal car's break valve and began to twist.  Seeing their opportunity, Yuu and Ryuu dashed forward.  They leapt from coal car to coal car and reached Yui with ease.  As they reached her, Kiyoko threw the shovel at the pair.  The head of the shovel hit Yuu square in the face.  Yuu crumpled to the floor.  Seeing that the shovel had missed Ryuu, Kiyoko picked up pieces of coal and threw them at Ryuu, forcing him to back away from Yui.  Koushi scrambled over the coal cars, gun raised.

"Almost there," Yui grunted, "and…. got it!"

With a shower of sparks and a deafening screech, the coal cars slowed.  Koushi leapt into the first coal car and grabbed at Yui.  Yui leapt onto the back of the engine car, barely dodging Koushi's grasp and barely grabbing the window.  Kiyoko steadied Yui, pulling her into the engine car as it pulled away.  They were safe.  With a laugh, Yui turned back to the stopped coal cars and waved at an incredulous Koushi.  As the engine car receded, Koushi slammed his fist onto the side of the coal car.  Yuu and Ryuu got the their feet, groaning as they moved.

"Don't just stand there," Daichi called from the automobile, "get out of there, and push the train over the cliff!"

Koushi, Yuu, and Ryuu swung themselves over the edge of the coal car.  They were joined by Asahi, Narita, and Chikara.  Together, they unhitched the first car and began to rock the coal car back and forth until it tipped over the edge of the tracks.  They watched as the car plummeted down to the ground below.

"One down, two to go," Asahi grumbled.

The group began to shove the other car when something in the sky caught Koushi's eye.  "Hold up a second," he said.  "Daichi, come here."

Daichi stepped down from the automobile.  He made his way over to Koushi, eyeing the sky.  Soaring above them was an airship.  "Do you think it's Oikawa?" he asked as Koushi fished out his spyglass.

Koushi trained his spyglass on the airship before humming in agreement.  "Yeah, it's Oikawa all right."  Koushi lowered the spyglass to look at Daichi.  "We need to find those girls."

***

Yui collapsed against the side of the engine car the moment she was inside.  She removed her hat and wiped the sweat from her brow with her forearm.  "That was a close one," she sighed.

"You sure showed them!" Mister Takeda called from the front.

Kiyoko crouched down next to Yui and patted her shoulder.  "You were amazing!" Kiyoko said.

Yui smiled at the contact, reaching up to brush her hand over Kiyoko's.  "You were too, the way you hit that pirate with the shovel," Yui replied.  "You really saved me back there."

"It was the least I could do," Kiyoko said.

The two lapsed into silence.  Yui cleared her throat and stood to add more coal to the furnace.  Her face was burning, and it had nothing to do with the heat from the fire.  Still, she couldn't keep the smile off her face as she worked.  Kiyoko had  _ complimented _ her.  Yui could have danced, she was so happy.

Mister Takeda broke the silence, "Well, would you look at that?  It looks like the army has come to the rescue!"

Yui's eyes snapped forward, her brow furrowed.  The  _ army  _ was coming to help?  Mister Bokuto would never call the army.  Had Mister Akaashi contacted them?  Yui didn't have much time to process this new information as Mister Takeda slowed the engine car to a halt.  In front of them, four armored cars came to a stop as well.  Kiyoko and Yui shared uneasy looks.

Mister Takeda leaned out the window of the engine car and called out, "Could you help these two young ladies?  Pirates have been chasing them all day!"

Two men in military uniforms stepped out from the first armored car.  The first man a lazy smile and red hair, while the other had silver hair with black tips.  They nodded at Mister Takeda, who ushered Yui and Kiyoko out of the engine car.  Yui stepped ahead of Kiyoko, blocking her from the two men.

"We can take them from here," the red-haired man drawled, his half-lidded eyes giving the girls a brief inspection.  "Isn't that right, Mister Iwaizumi."

Kiyoko gasped, cringing as a man with spiky black hair stepped out from the armored car.  He surveyed the area before his gaze stopped on Kiyoko.

"Ah, Miss Shimizu," he said, addressing her.  "It's good to see you in one piece."

Yui felt Kiyoko shift beside her.  She turned and watched as Kiyoko took several steps back.  "Kiyoko?"

"Goodbye, Yui," Kiyoko whispered.  She turned on her heel and sprinted back the way they'd came.

"Miss Shimizu, come back here!" Iwaizumi shouted, racing after Kiyoko.  The man with the silver and black hair followed.

Yui growled; she was not going to let them hurt Kiyoko.  She turned her body just enough so that when Iwaizumi ran past, he tripped over her outstretched foot.  Down he went, dragging the other man with him.  Yui took advantage of the momentary chaos to sprint after Kiyoko herself.  Behind her, she could hear the military man call to her to stop or get shot, but she forced herself to move forward.

"Semi, no!" Iwaizumi shouted at the same time Mister Takeda pulled hard on a cord.  Steam poured out from under the engine car, obscuring their vision.

"Kiyoko, wait!" Yui called.  Kiyoko slowed to a stop, her breath coming in sharp pants.  Up ahead, the automobile came around the corner.  The pirates had managed to push aside the coal cars, and they did not look happy.

"Daichi, that's an armored train!" they could hear one of the pirates shout.

Kiyoko panicked.  She glanced for an exit, and found one in a turnoff track.  Without hesitation, Kiyoko took off running.  Yui watched as Iwaizumi and the two military men finally crawled out of the steam and stood back up.  Yui bolted after Kiyoko.

"Don't follow me, Yui!" Kiyoko yelled over her shoulder.  "You'll get hurt!"

But Yui didn't listen.  She sprinted faster after Yui, catching up with ease.  A shell fired from the armored military train towards the pirates.  It barely missed.  The force of the explosion knocked Yui off kilter, but she kept running.  Koushi, having abandoned his smaller gun for something bigger, fired his own explosive shell at the lever that would redirect the rails.  The car swerved, and the pirates were once again tailing Yui and Kiyoko.  The armored train fired another shot, this time the shell connected with the bridge.  The track began to collapse.  Yui, desperate, surged forward, hoping the pair could reach solid land.

The pirates, however, were upon them in no time at all.  In a last ditch effort to avoid getting hit, Yui wrapped her arms around Kiyoko and dragged her over the edge of the track.  Debris fell around them as Yui grasped a splintering railroad tie.

"Don't let go!" Kiyoko screamed.

Above them, there were shouts of alarm and a crash; the pirates had reached solid ground, and had crashed into a wall.  Yui wished she could care that they were potentially hurt, but her attention was preoccupied by a collapsing bridge and a very terrified Kiyoko.  She strained to hold up hers and Kiyoko's weights.  Yui knew that, judging by her sweaty palms, it was a lost cause.  She could hear one of the pirates say, "Just watch them", and she silently cursed them to an eternity of suffering.  She had been planning a nice, quiet morning.  And then they showed up and made  _ this _ happen.  Stupid pirates.

As more debris fell around them, and Yui felt her fingers slipped to the edge of the wooden track, she whispered, "I'm sorry Kiyoko.  I tried.  I really did."

"I know you did," Kiyoko whispered back.  "I'm so sorry, Yui.  I dragged you into this mess."

"I'm glad you did."

Splinters jabbed into Yui's fingers, her hand slipped.  Kiyoko squeezed her eyes shut as Yui lost her grip on the wooden track completely.  Like Kiyoko had experienced the night before, time froze as the two hung suspended in midair.  They held their breath for a fraction of a second.  And then, they were falling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun author fact: There are two versions of this chapter written. The other version has the shirt exploding contest from the movie.
> 
> PS: Sorry for the cliffhanger. See you in two weeks!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kiyoko and Yui learn more about the crystal and its connection to Laputa.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AND WE'RE BACK FOLKS! CHAPTER 4 IS HERE! Thank you so so so much to everyone who has read/commented/kudos'd you all are so amazing, and I love each and every single one of you. Including you. Yes, you. Especially you. Also a big thanks to En (yaoyoroses on tumblr) for the beta. The next update will on 12/29. Happy Holidays to all of you in case I don't publish anything else before then. LOVE YOU ALL <3

Asahi and Yuu shouted in alarm when the two girls dropped from the damaged bridge.  They leapt forward, only to be blocked by Koushi and Chikara.

"They dropped!" Asahi shouted.

"I know, but you can't just jump at the edge, we need to be smart about this," Koushi said.  He looked over his shoulder at the hole before turning back to Asahi.  "We need to figure out a safe way down before the army does.  See if we can get the automobile up and running."

"Wait," Daichi commanded before anyone could move.  "Just watch."

Koushi swiveled his head towards Daichi.  He opened his mouth—a question on his lips—when Daichi shook his head again.

"Just watch," he repeated, watching the two girls as they fell into the pit below.

***

Of all the ways Yui thought she was going to die, falling into a mine while holding a girl she had just met had not been particularly high on the list.  And yet, here she was.  Wind roared in Yui's ears as she clutched the back of Kiyoko's jacket.  Her eyes were clenched shut in favor of not knowing when they'd hit the ground.  Yui repeated to herself, "I did what I could" over and over to herself, trying to comfort herself before her untimely demise. 

But something about their situation was changing.  The wind quieted from a roar to silence, and was no longer tugging at Yui's clothes.  From behind her eyelids, Yui could see the shadow of a light, the familiar bright teal she had seen the night before.  She cracked open her eyes in time to watch beams of light recede back into Kiyoko's necklace, causing the crystal to glow and levitate.  Kiyoko opened her eyes as well.  

"Kiyoko," Yui gasped, eyes wide with a mix of excitement and astonishment. "We're floating!"

Staring at the crystal in wonder, the two drifted apart until they were connected only by their hands.  Kiyoko and Yui spun in a slow, lazy circle, laughing as they floated along gently.

"This is what happened the first time I saw you," Yui explained.  She crowed, "I knew it!  I knew there was something special about your necklace!"

Yui was struck by the sudden overwhelming urge to do a somersault, but figured she would plummet to her death if she let go of Kiyoko.  Testing their newfound weightlessness, she dropped one of Kiyoko's hands and planked, her arm outstretched.  She let the wind push her upward.  Kiyoko panicked, grasping Yui's hand with both of her own and dragging Yui back until the two brushed shoulders.  She breathed a sigh of relief, offering the other girl a smile.  Yui beamed in response. 

Confident that they wouldn't drift apart, the two turned their attention back to their destination.  They had fallen about 500 feet, if Yui were to guess, towards a gaping hole in the ground.  Yui judged from the rundown buildings and rusted equipment that surrounded the hole that they were falling into an abandoned mineshaft.  The hole had a diameter of thirty feet; the two could safely descend without brushing against rusty machinery.  Satisfied with this knowledge, Yui gripped Kiyoko's hand tighter.  Kiyoko squeezed her hand in return.  

"The necklace will set us down nice and easy," Yui reassured Kiyoko.

Together, they drifted into the abyss below, the crystal their only source of light.

***

"You see that," Daichi commented as Yui and Kiyoko drifted out of sight.  "It's what Tsukishima described last night."

Koushi whistled, impressed, "So that's the power of the crystal."

"One of them, anyway," Daichi confirmed.   "We need to find a way down there, before-."

Daichi was interrupted by a series of deafening booms.  The army had turned their attention to the pirates, and were firing shells at them.  With a scream, the group turned tail and ran.  They ducked into a nearby tunnel.  Behind them, the ground exploded as round after round was fired from the army's weapons.  Narita and Kinoshita were in the lead, but they were quickly overtaken by Ryuu and Yuu.  Chikara and Asahi weren't far behind.  Daichi and Koushi brought up the rear.  Much to Asahi's dismay, they were laughing hysterically.

"How is this funny!?" he cried.  "There is nothing good about this situation!"

Koushi caught up to Asahi, smacking him soundly on the back.  "Are you kidding?  Things just became infinitely more interesting!"

Daichi caught up to the pair as well.  He had a wild look in his eye that deeply unsettled Asahi as he said, "Imagine what we could do if we had that crystal.  We need to get it, before Oikawa does."

"So what's the plan?" Yuu called over his shoulder.

Behind them, part of the tunnel wall collapsed, plunging the group into darkness.

"First things first, we find a way out of here," Koushi began.

"Then, we find those girls," Daichi finished.

***

Yui was the first one to touch down in the mine shaft.  The two fell in darkness for what felt like ages when they finally passed through another hole.  What they found in the fading light of the crystal was a tunnel running perpendicular to the one they had been in.  Yui pulled her hand—somewhat reluctantly—from Kiyoko's and dropped to the floor.  Knowing they had a short amount of time before the crystal stopped glowing, she pulled a lantern from her bag.  The moment Kiyoko's feet hit the ground, the light began to fade.

"It's going out!" Kiyoko gasped, cradling the gem in her hands.

"Don't worry, I've got this," Yui reassured Kiyoko, lighting the lantern just as the crystal stopped glowing.  She sat down on the ground and sighed; she was going to be sore tomorrow.  Yui resisted the urge to lie down on the ground and groan.

"Are your hands okay?" Kiyoko asked.

Yui was about to ask what Kiyoko meant when it came back to her.  She examined her hands, counting the splinters she had.  There were five in total between the two.  "Forgot about these," Yui murmured.

Kiyoko sat down next to Yui.  She reached took Yui's hands in her own and muttered, "Let me help."

It was a slow process, and a painful one at that, but they eventually managed to get the splinters out of Yui's hands.  Using some of the medical supplies Yui kept in her bag, Kiyoko disinfected and bandaged the wounds.  She didn't say a word as she worked.  Yui found the silence unbearable.

"I guess your necklace must come to life whenever you're in trouble," Yui remarked, trying to ease the tension.

Kiyoko paused.  She lifted the crystal, giving it a brief examination.  "I guess so," she agreed.  Kiyoko returned to her work without another word.  She tied off the last bandage and got to her feet before tucking the necklace into her shirt.

Yui scrambled to her feet as well, bringing the lantern with her.  She eyed the tunnel above them; the sky above was nothing more a thin, blue pinprick.  "Guess we're going to have to find a different way out."  When Kiyoko didn't answer, Yui turned to her.  Kiyoko had returned to frowning at the crystal.  "What's wrong?" Yui asked.  "Are you okay?"

Kiyoko nodded.  "I'm fine.  I just hope your boss and the others are alright.  I'd hate for them to have gotten hurt because of me."

"I wouldn't worry about too much about Mister Bokuto and the others," Yui said.  "They're reliable, and they've got each others' backs.  They'll be fine."

Satisfied with that answer, Kiyoko smiled and gave her a quick nod.

"We do need to find a way out," Yui repeated.  "If we follow this tunnel long enough, we should find an exit."

"Are you sure?" Kiyoko asked.

"Positive," Yui stated.  "All tunnels connect to an exit tunnel.  We’ll find our way out sooner or later.  Let's go."

Yui took Kiyoko's hand and set off down the tunnel.  They walked in silence for a while, the only sound coming from their footsteps and distant water drips.  Yui had mostly recovered from the initial shock of the events.  Kiyoko, however, was still trembling.  Yui didn't like that at all.

"You know, this town has been a mining town for as long as anyone can remember," Yui told Kiyoko.  "As a result, most of the precious metals in the area have been found.  After resources are used up, the tunnels are abandoned.  No one's probably used this tunnel for ages."

This seemed to help Kiyoko relax, so Yui kept talking.  As they walked, Yui gave Kiyoko a detailed explanation of the town's history.  When she ran out of things to say about the town, she told Kiyoko about her family.  Where they grew up, how they met, their wedding, how Yui's mother died not long after her father did, how Mister Bokuto and Mister Akaashi took Yui in until she was old enough to return to her cabin, how the miners became her new family.  Kiyoko let her ramble.  Yui knew that she was sharing too much about herself, but she felt no real shame.  Kiyoko had calmed down significantly, and that was all that mattered to Yui.

They wandered the tunnels for a couple hours.  When Yui noticed that Kiyoko was lagging behind, she suggested they rest.  Yui had never seen someone look so grateful.  They sat down near an underground river, the light from their lantern casting shadows on the sheer rock face behind them.  Yui dug around in her bag until she found some food.  She passed Kiyoko a slice of bread and an apple.

"That bag of yours must be magic," Kiyoko teased.  "It's always got just what we need."

"It never hurts to be prepared for just about anything," Yui replied, taking a bite out of her own piece of bread.

The two quickly ate their meager portions before settling back against the rock face.  Yui passed a few pieces of candy to Kiyoko.  While Kiyoko ate those, Yui examined the bandages on her fingers and reflected back on the past few hours.

Finally, she spoke up. "Kiyoko, where exactly do you come from?"

Kiyoko took the hat off her head and ran a hand through her midnight hair.  "I come from up north," she said, "deep in the mountains.  I used to live there with my parents on a farm.  It was nice, we were happy."

Kiyoko paused, took a deep breath, then continued. "But when my mother and father died, I was alone.  The farm kept me going, as did taking care of my animals.  I lived on my own for two years.  Then three days ago, everything changed.  That was the day the men came, and took me away."

Something in Yui's brain clicked into place.  She sat up straight, anger and disbelief radiating off of her in waves.  "You mean they kidnapped you?  It was that man in the dark glasses, wasn't it?"

Kiyoko nodded.

"I wonder who that guy is, and what he's doing with the army?" Yui muttered.  She scowled, picking up a rock and throwing it into the darkness.  "I think both the Sawamura gang and that mysterious guy are after your necklace."

"You're right," Kiyoko agreed.  "When they first took me, their leader took it from me.  But I had no idea it was this powerful.  It's been in my family for as long as I can remember.  My mother gave it to me before she died.  She told me to never show it or give it away to anyone."

Yui let Kiyoko's words replay in her mind.  Kiyoko was alone, and she was being hunted for her necklace.  There was no way Yui could let Kiyoko deal with this alone.  Not if she could help it.

"Well, it seems to me that we orphans should stick together," Yui said cheerfully.  Kiyoko smiled and rested a hand on Yui's.  Yui did her best to ignore the butterflies in her stomach.

"I really am sorry," Kiyoko said.  "It's my fault that you've been mixed up in all of this."

Yui scoffed, "Are you kidding?  This is the most exciting thing that's ever happened to me!  I wouldn't miss an adventure like this for anything in the world."

Kiyoko squeezed Yui's hand, but her next sentence was cut off by the sounds of footsteps.  Yui and Kiyoko sprang to their feet.  Yui grabbed the lantern and put herself between Kiyoko and whoever was approaching.  Slowly but surely, the intruder made their way into the light.  The new arrival was a wizened, older man, taller than Yui and Kiyoko.  On his back, he carried a full kit, including a shovel, a pick axe, and a canteen.  His cropped gray hair disappeared under a worn hat.  Something about the man was familiar to Yui.  There was something about his eyes…

"Don't you kids know better than to be running around abandoned mines?" the man asked, his voice gravelly from disuse.

Yui lowered the lantern, realization dawning on her face.  "Oh, it's Grandpa Ukai!"  Yui turned to Kiyoko, "Don't worry, he's a friend.  Sort of.  His grandson runs the best café in the village."  Yui turned back to Grandpa Ukai and grinned, "How are you, sir?"

Grandpa Ukai raised his lantern higher, squinting at Yui.  "I can't see you properly, but you sound like that Michimiya girl," he replied, taking a few more steps forward.  "And it looks like you have a friend."

"There are pirates chasing us, sir," Yui explained, "and the army's right behind them."

Grandpa Ukai looked between the two girls, then laughed, a low rumble that echoed off the rocks.  "Sounds like you two have had an interesting day."

"Believe me, sir," Kiyoko said, "you don't know the half of it."

***

The trio worked their way back to the surface, with Yui and Kiyoko relying on Grandpa Ukai's extensive knowledge of the mine's labyrinth-like tunnels to lead them to the exit.  Their path angled upwards, and  the underground river flowed beside them.  As they walked, Yui relayed news from the surface to Grandpa Ukai, and he told her stories about living underground.  Kiyoko followed along in silence.  They walked until they reached a fork in the tunnel.  Grandpa Ukai insisted that they stop to rest for a bit.  As they settled down, Kiyoko turned to Grandpa Ukai with a burning curiosity that needed to be sated.

"Do you ever get lonely down here, Grandpa Ukai?" Kiyoko asked.  "With your family being on the surface, and all?"

Grandpa Ukai chuckled and shook his head, "No, I don't."

"Why do you stay down here, then?" Yui pressed.

Grandpa Ukai patted the ground next to him.  "When you work in these tunnels for as long as I have, you develop a certain kind of… well, let's call it 'friendship' with the rocks.  In a way, these rocks speak to me.  Ever since last night, they've been especially restless."

"The rocks talk to you?" Yui asked.

"The earth speaks to all of us," Grandpa Ukai intoned, "and if we listen, we can understand."

Kiyoko and Yui fell silent.  They glanced around the cave, straining to hear something.  Grandpa Ukai chuckled at their confused expressions.

"The rocks speak in a small voice," he explained as he reached for the lantern.  He extinguished the flame inside, flooding the tunnel with darkness.

Instinctively, Yui pressed against Kiyoko's side.  The warmth from the other girl was comforting for Yui, and she found herself reaching for Kiyoko's hand.  Kiyoko slipped her hand into Yui's and gave it a reassuring squeeze.  The two turned their attention back to Grandpa Ukai, who was staring off into the distance.  He was waiting for something.  After a few moments, a gentle light filled the cave.  Both girls let out a soft gasp.

Yui was staring at the cosmos.  Specks of light had appeared on the floor, ceiling, and walls of the cave, bathing everything in soft whites and blues.  Yui got to her feet, staring in wonder at the glowing rocks that reminded her of the billions of stars in the night sky.  They were galaxies, but so much closer than she ever could imagine.  She was mesmerized.

"This is amazing," Kiyoko said, her voice filled with awe.

 "It was just a hunk of rock a moment ago," Yui murmured.

"The answer lies inside these rocks," Grandpa Ukai told them.  "Let me show you." 

Grandpa Ukai scooped a rock off of the ground, and held it loosely in his hand.  It appeared to be an ordinary rock.  Using a small hammer, he smashed the rock in half.  The piece left in his hand glowed blue, the same soft shade as the lights in the cave.  After a few seconds, the light faded.

"Yui, did you see that?" Kiyoko whispered.

Grandpa Ukai tossed the rock back onto the ground.  As it clattered away, he picked up another and told the girls, "All the rocks around here contain a bit of aetherium."

"Really?" Yui asked.

In lieu of a response, Grandpa Ukai cracked the second rock in half.  Like the previous one, the inside of the rock glowed blue before the light faded into nothingness.  "Mankind once knew how to mine aetherium, but no longer."

Something about the name "aetherium" resonated with Kiyoko.  With only a small amount of hesitation, she pulled the necklace from inside her shirt.  As she thought, it was glowing.

"Look," she whispered, showing it to Grandpa Ukai.

Grandpa Ukai's eyes widened as he stared at the necklace, "That's a pure aetherium crystal.  May I?"

Kiyoko unclasped the necklace and passed it to Grandpa Ukai.  He took the necklace, and examined it closely.

"There hasn't been one since before my great grandfather's time," he explained as he twisted the crystal around.  "No wonder the rocks were restless."

"The stone possess incredible power," Kiyoko said, taking the necklace back from Grandpa Ukai.

Grandpa Ukai sat back and eyed Kiyoko thoughtfully.  After a moment, he spoke, "Legend has it that only the people of the floating city of Laputa knew how to make such crystals."

Kiyoko's eyes widened.  "They made this crystal?"

Grandpa Ukai nodded.  "They used aetherium to make Laputa float in the sky."

"I knew Laputa wasn't just made up!" Yui crowed, her fists pumping into the air.  "You see, Kiyoko?  It's just as my dad said!"

Grandpa Ukai sat back and ran a hand over his face.  "Do you mind putting that crystal away?  It's a bit too strong for me."  Kiyoko complied with a mumbled apology.  Once the crystal was away, Grandpa Ukai lit the lantern and spoke, "My great grandfather used to tell me that the rocks become restless whenever Laputa appears over the mine.  I imagine your crystal does the same."

Yui stared at the ceiling in wonder.  "So that must mean that Laputa's over the mine right now!"  She turned to Kiyoko and grabbed her shoulders. "Kiyoko, now I can prove that the legend is true!"

"Not to cut in on such a happy occasion," Grandpa Ukai interjected, "but, Kiyoko, I must tell you something."

Kiyoko turned to look at him, concern flashing in her eyes.  "What is it?"

"That crystal is extremely powerful, but with a power that rightfully belongs to the earth from which it came," Grandpa Ukai warned.  "To forget that, and then to try and use the crystal's power for selfish reasons will bring great unhappiness.  You understand?"

Kiyoko glanced at Yui before nodding at Grandpa Ukai.

Satisfied, Grandpa Ukai continued, "Your crystal should remind us that we come from the earth, and to the earth we must return."

Yui could see that Kiyoko was visibly uncomfortable, and decided that was the moment she needed to intervene.  "Hey, lighten up, you two!  That crystal's gotten Kiyoko out of big trouble twice already!  And I have a feeling that this crystal's gonna help us find Laputa."

Grandpa Ukai blinked in surprise before letting out a sharp bark of laughter, "I hope so.  Now, I think we've waited here long enough.  Let's get going."

The trio set off again.  As they walked, the light of the tunnel became brighter, the air cleaner; they were close to the surface.  Yui and Grandpa Ukai put out their lanterns.  Before long, the red-tinted light of sunset filled the tunnel.  They had found the exit.  Yui took the lead, racing up the tunnel to check for any pirates or military men.  She took a deep breath of fresh air once she reached the mouth of the tunnel, reveling in the feeling of being on the surface once more.  A quick survey of the area showed no signs of any hostiles, and Yui raced back down the tunnel towards her companions.

"The coast is clear," she said to Kiyoko.  "Let's go."

Kiyoko turned to Grandpa Ukai and gave him a quick hug.  "Thank you for your help."

Grandpa Ukai seemed surprised by the gesture, but returned it regardless.  "Be careful, you two," he warned, giving Kiyoko a gentle push towards Yui.

Yui took Kiyoko's hand.  Together, they picked their way back up to the mouth of the tunnel.  Yui turned and gave Grandpa Ukai a quick wave.  He waved in return, then made his way back down into the mine. 

The mouth of the tunnel was set into a hillside that overlooked a different part of the valley than Yui was familiar with.  She guessed that they were several miles from her cabin, but they could reach it by morning.  They just had to figure out which way to go.  Yui turned and climbed the hill, Kiyoko following close behind.  At the top, Yui turned to stare at the sky.

"Wow, would you look at that," she whistled as she gestured to the clouds.

The clouds were tinged pink by the light of the setting sun, their fluffy shapes pushed along by the wind that buffeted Yui and Kiyoko.  The two marveled in the beauty of it all, but their attention was drawn to one cloud in particular: a large Altocumulus cloud that seemed to swirl in multiple directions.

"Beyond that cloud is a floating city that no one even believes exists," Yui said.  With a deep breath and an intense look of determination, Yui smacked her cheeks with both hands, then raised her fists into the air.  "I swear, I'm gonna be the one that proves Laputa exists!"

"Yui," Kiyoko began, hesitation obvious, "there's something I haven't told you yet."  When Yui didn't speak up, Kiyoko continued, "You see, my family comes from a very old, traditional line.  And while people have married into the family, and we've changed our name to protect ourselves, the traditional family name has stayed: Laputa."

Yui's eyes widened.  "Laputa," she whispered.  "You mean you're…"

The rest of Yui's sentence was cut short by the sounds of engines.  Yui and Kiyoko whipped around to see an airship flying low over the field, and heading straight for them.  It was the army.

"They found us, Kiyoko, let's go!" Yui screamed. 

She grabbed Kiyoko by the wrist and ran back down the hill.  The airship touched down, skidding to a halt as the girls reached the path down to the tunnel.  The man from the train tracks leapt from the airship, followed by several soldiers.  They had guns drawn.

"Head back to the mine!" Yui shouted, shoving Kiyoko down the path.  "Hurry!"

Kiyoko sprinted down the path, with Yui in hot pursuit.  If they could make it back to the mine, they'd be safe.  They could get lost in the tunnels and find Grandpa Ukai again.  He'd lead them to safety.  He'd-.

But it wasn't meant to be.  Waiting for them by the tunnel's entrance were the soldiers from the train tracks.  And they had reinforcements.  Kiyoko and Yui were trapped.

The same silver haired man from earlier stepped forward, gun raised.  "Hands up!"

Yui flung herself in front of Kiyoko, a snarl plastered on her face as she kept her arms spread.  "Don't you touch her," she growled.

Without warning, something solid struck the back of Yui's head.  The last thing she registered before passing out was Kiyoko's shouts of protest.

***

Oikawa Tooru was nothing if not persistent.  Once he set his sights on something, he would do anything to get it.  Even if he had to fight pirates tooth and nail for the key to Laputa itself, he would do it.  Oikawa had come so far, success was within his grasp.  And he knew moment that he stepped out of the airship, he was one step closer.

Standing by the door was one of Ushijima's men, a young lieutenant with a black bowl cut and an air about him that screamed enthusiasm.

"Sir, we’ve captured them!" he announced.

"And it's about time," Oikawa grinned, his tone sweet like poisoned honey.

Without waiting for the lieutenant to respond, Oikawa marched down the hill.  He had a prize to claim.

***

Without much flourish, Ryuu shoved open the basement door to the short haired girl's—Yui, he thought her name was—cabin.  He gave the basement a quick peek before sneaking inside.  Ryuu couldn't hear anyone else, but that didn't stop him from sneaking through the entire cabin to make sure it was empty.

"How does it look, Tanaka?" Chikara called from outside.

"All clear!" Ryuu called back.

The rest of the crew filed into the tiny cabin, with Daichi and Koushi at the front of the pack.  The group spread out, preparing themselves for the arrival of either the girls or Oikawa's men.  Koushi sat down at the small kitchen table while Daichi made his way over to the window. 

"It's too quiet," Koushi mused.

"I agree," Daichi responded.  "We'll wait here until it feels safe to return to the  _ Karasuno _ ."

They were in for a long wait, but sooner or later, someone would come their way.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yui is not having a good day. Kiyoko realizes that Oikawa is more dangerous than she had initially thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Team! Happy almost New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and are looking forward to a new year. Kinda eeked this one out last minute in terms of editing and posting, so this chapter is unbeta'd. (Sorry En, my bad!) This chapter was originally over 7000 words long and that was the point when I decided to make this a 10 chapter fic instead of an 8 chapter fic. A big thank you to everyone who had commented and left kudos, you all are the best! Next chapter will be posted on January 12th. Have a Happy New Year, folks! And enjoy!

The first feeling that Yui registered as she came to was how cold the floor was.  The cold, rough stone against Yui's skin made her shiver.  She groaned as she pushed herself up onto all fours, a dull pain throbbed at the back of her skull.  Yui rubbed her head, wincing as her fingers brushed over a decent sized lump.

'That's not going away any time soon,' she thought as she sat back on her heels.

The room Yui found herself in was circular, most likely part of a tower.  Pale morning light shone through a single, narrow opening in the wall, meaning she wasn't entirely underground.  Someone had left a blanket, along with a single pot, but otherwise the room was empty.  Yui got to her feet, turning on the spot until she found the exit—a worn, wooden door.  She ran for the door, but faltered when she realized there was no knob or handle.

"Hey!  Let me out!" Yui shouted, banging her fist against the wood. 

When no one answered, Yui took a step back, inhaled, then rammed her shoulder against the wood.  Pain surged from her shoulder, and Yui knew there would be a bruise later, but she didn't stop.  She backed up and ran at the door again and again until the pain in her shoulder was almost too much.  Yui backed away, clutching her arm.

Yui looked around the room again, muttering through gritted teeth, "Where am I?  Where's Kiyoko?"

Yui's gaze landed on the narrow window.  She dropped her hand from her shoulder as she stared at the sliver of light.  It was about eight feet up the wall; she'd have to jump to get to it.  Yui pressed her back against the wall, then sprinted forward.  She leapt, grabbing the bottom edge of opening.  Yui's shoulder screamed in protest at the pull, but Yui refused to let go.  Her feet scrambled for purchase against the stone wall, and Yui pulled herself up to look through the slim opening.  It was too narrow for her to climb through, but Yui could hear the sounds of marching and the faint crash of waves.  She was in a military stronghold of some kind.  As Yui strained to hear anything else, her hands slipped.  With a yelp, Yui crashed back to the floor below.

"This is not my lucky day," Yui griped, adding 'sore bottom' to her ever growing list of injuries.

***

In a separate tower, General Ushijima Wakatoshi was having a similar thought.  It was all well and good that Colonel Oikawa had finally managed to bring in the necklace and that Kiyoko girl, but the other girl was an unknown, a liability. Oikawa, however, insisted on keeping her locked in the stronghold dungeon.  If Ushijima had had his way, both girls would have been removed from the picture by now.  But here he was, with one imprisoned, and the other kept in one of the private rooms like a guest.  Oikawa's methods were grating on Ushijima's nerves.

"We're wasting time, Oikawa," Ushijima said, turning away from the window.  "There are more effective ways of getting a girl to talk other than showering her with lavish gifts."

Oikawa, who had been seated at the table surrounded by his own men, sneered, "I respectfully disagree.  Such military tactics risk wasting more time, General."

Ushijima crossed the room to stand on the opposite side of the table from Oikawa.  "If my tactics had been used to begin with, we would be closer to our goal.  Sawamura wouldn't have had a chance to interfere with us at all."

"It was a military transmission that the pirates decoded," Oikawa pointed out.  "You've bungled things, sir, and now I must fix them."

Ushijima managed to keep his expression neutral; he let his men look offended for him.

Oikawa stood, and his men followed.  "Your job, General, is to mobilize the troops when it becomes necessary," he added, making his way to the door.

"Oikawa," Ushijima called after him.  "Don't forget, the government put me in charge of finding Laputa."

Oikawa turned to look at Ushijima over his shoulder, "Don't forget, as the government's agent, I'm in charge of you, Ushijima."

Without another word, Oikawa and his men left the room.  As the door slammed shut, everyone in the room let out a frustrated sigh.

"Damn that Oikawa," Major Shirabu growled.  "I hate that man."

"He sure knows how to push a button," Lieutenant Colonel Tendou added, idly fiddling with the bandages on his face.  "Right, Wakatoshi?"

"That's 'General' to you, Tendou," Lieutenant Colonel Semi muttered, nudging Tendou with his elbow.

"What's our next move, sir?" Brigadier General Ohira asked.

"We wait to see how Colonel Oikawa handles things," Ushijima said.  "If I find his methods unsatisfactory, I'll step in and handle things myself."

***

Kiyoko barely registered the fact that it was morning.  When she and Yui had been brought to the fortress hours before, she had watched as Yui's unconscious body had been carried away to another part of the castle.  Oikawa and his men had brought Kiyoko to some grand room in a high tower, leaving her in comfortable solitude.  There were wrapped boxes on a table—ignored by Kiyoko save for one that had a simple, white night gown—and a queen-sized bed with a canopy and purple silk sheets.  Kiyoko had ignored that too, opting to sit on the spacious windowsill after changing into the night gown.  She had spent hours staring out the window, wondering where Yui was and if she was safe.  Guilt wracked Kiyoko.  If only Yui had listened to her when she told Yui to run.  If only they had managed to make it back into the mines.  Kiyoko knew that wallowing in self-pity really wasn't going to do her a lot of good, but at the moment, she needed it.

The rattle of the lock drew Kiyoko's attention.  She sat up as it clicked.  The door swung open, and Oikawa stepped inside.  As the door shut behind him, he made his way over to the wrapped boxes on the table.

"I trust you slept well?" he asked, examining a long-sleeved red dress with ruffles.  "Now, this dress is fit for a princess!  Wouldn't you agree?

Ignoring his "princess" comment, Kiyoko got to her feet.  "Where's Yui?  Is she alright?  I want to see her!"

Oikawa smiled at Kiyoko, a wide grin with no warmth and too much teeth; a shiver ran down her spine.

"Don't worry, Kiyoko.  Your friend is being treated as if she's the guest of royalty," Oikawa reassured her.  He held out his hand.  "I want you to see something before I take you to see her."

Kiyoko eyed Oikawa's hand, weighing her options.  She could smack Oikawa's hand, try to make a dash for the door.  However, he could just as easily overpower her, and he was offering to take her to Yui.  She could suffer through whatever he wanted to show her.

Kiyoko gave Oikawa a hesitant nod, but refused to take his hand.  Oikawa's smile widened.  He led her out of the room, down a series of hallways to an old elevator.  They climbed inside, and it rapidly descended into the depths of the fortress.  Kiyoko watched with disinterest as carts loaded with munitions drove by on wooden tracks until they reached the bottom.  Oikawa gestured for Kiyoko to step out of the elevator before leading her to a pair of metal doors.  He pushed them open, revealing a darkened workshop.

"Please, step inside," Oikawa said.

Kiyoko took a few trepid steps into the room, Oikawa not far behind.  Once the doors slid shut, Oikawa turned the lights on.  On the floor in front of Kiyoko was a broken humanoid.

The thing on the floor was gray-brown, though if that colorization was from disuse, Kiyoko couldn't tell.  It had a bullet-shaped head and mismatched cylinders where eyes would be on a human.  These cylinders were attached to an apparatus that reminded Kiyoko of goggles.  The head rested on top of a skinny cylinder which connected to a broad body.  There were two long, segmented arms with protrusions—much like the bones of a bat's wing—and flat hands with five fingers.  One of the arms had been broken, as had one of the legs.  The feet had two toes each.  The center of its chest had raised bump of some kind.  Something about the humanoid seemed familiar to Kiyoko, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. 

"What is it?" Kiyoko asked.

Oikawa moved to stand next to Kiyoko.  "An artificial life form.  A robot," he explained.  "Laputa was just a legend until this dropped from the sky.  It fell right onto some poor farmer's field.  We recovered it, and now the government wants me to use it to unlock Laputa's secrets."

Oikawa strode over to the robot and nudged it with his foot.  "For example, what's this fellow made of?  Metal or ceramics?  With our limited technology, we have no idea. But, he does tell us one thing."  Oikawa turned back to Kiyoko and gestured for her to get closer.  When Kiyoko made no movement toward the robot, he added, "Don't be afraid, Kiyoko.  He's really quite dead, you know."

Kiyoko hated this.  Kiyoko hated the saccharine grin Oikawa gave her, the way he looked at her without kindness in his eyes.  He was using her as a means to an end, he had hurt her friend, and still he acted as though this was nothing but a pleasant conversation about a new scientific breakthrough.  Kiyoko wanted to spit in his face and be done with him.  Still, Kiyoko was in no position to refuse him; Oikawa still had Yui hidden away somewhere.  Tamping down her hesitation, Kiyoko made her way over to the robot.  Oikawa stepped aside for Kiyoko, then pointed at the robot's chest.  Sitting in the center of it was the same crest from Kiyoko's necklace.

"Is that-?" Kiyoko started before trailing off.

"Yes, it's the same emblem that decorates the fireplace of your home," Oikawa said.  He held up the necklace, the blue crystal catching in the light.  "And your crystal.  You see, Kiyoko, this crystal also comes from Laputa.  And I believe the powers locked inside it are capable of leading a person back to that city's treasures."

Kiyoko snapped her head to the side, eyes full of rage as she glared at Oikawa.  "Then why?  Why don't you just take it?  Just take it, and keep Laputa's treasures for yourself, but leave Yui and me alone!"  Kiyoko's voice cracked on the last syllable, her voice wavering as she whispered, "Please."

Oikawa scoffed.  He turned away from Kiyoko and began to pace.  "You think I'm doing this for money?  You misunderstand my intentions.  According to the legend, the same technology that kept Laputa airborne also made it a major power that once dominated the entire planet.  If such a horrible thing is still floating up there, you can understand what a threat it is to the peace of the entire world."

Kiyoko knew this game.  Oikawa was trying to appeal to her good nature, her desire to keep people safe.  He wasn't fooling her.

Oikawa turned back to Kiyoko.  He walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, his voice soft as he said, "Kiyoko, the stone only works for you.  You must know of some way to make the stone point out the location of Laputa."

Kiyoko looked down at her feet, and shook her head.  "I'm telling you the truth.  I really don't know anything about how the stone works, or about Laputa."  Kiyoko looked up at Oikawa, "Please, let me see Yui."

He gave her a sympathetic look.  No, it wasn't sympathetic.  It was mocking.  Oikawa squeezed Kiyoko's shoulder, leaning down to whisper into her ear, "I don't want to see any harm come to anyone, but I simply can't control what the military might do to her."

Kiyoko pulled away from Oikawa, turning to stare at him with wide eyes.  "What?  No, they wouldn't…"

Oikawa shrugged, "In the event that you cooperate, I'm sure whoever's in charge will grant Yui her freedom.  After all, the military would greatly appreciate the help of someone of the Laputian Royal bloodline.  Especially the sole heir."

Kiyoko backed away from Oikawa, "How do you know that?"

"You don't think I started this little venture of mine without doing my research, did you?" Oikawa asked.  "You are the legitimate heir to the throne of Laputa, Princess Kiyoko."  Oikawa smiled, that same smug grin that Kiyoko wanted nothing more than to slap off his face, "Now, do I have your cooperation, Your Highness?  Or am I going to have to send someone for a private visit with your little friend in the dungeons?"

***

Deep down, Yui knew that there was no way this was going to work, but she had to find some way out of her prison cell.  She had found what appeared to be a shaft of some kind near the ceiling that was big enough for someone her size to fit through.  Problem was, she would have to climb to get to it.  Yui had managed to climb a total of ten feet the last time before falling, and she was determined to make it farther.  She was about twenty feet up now, she was almost there.

Yui's hands slipped.  She screamed as she plummeted back down the wall, her fingers scrambling at the stones as she dropped.  Yui managed to grab onto the edge of the window momentarily before gravity pulled her the rest of the way down.  It was enough to slow her momentum, so when she hit the floor, she was still mostly fine.  Apart from her bruised ego and tailbone, that is.

As Yui lay on the ground moaning in pain, the lock clicked.  The door swung open, revealing a soldier with dark ginger hair and a scowl.

"Alright, get up," he said.  "Out."

Yui scrambled to her feet, glancing between the soldier and the doorway.  Standing at the end of the hallway was Kiyoko, and a man with brown hair and the fakest smile Yui had ever seen.

"Kiyoko!" she called, running forward.  She pulled Kiyoko into her arms, wrapping them tightly around the other girl.  Yui hated that she could feel Kiyoko trembling.

"Are you alright, Yui?" Kiyoko whispered as she ran her fingers through Yui's hair.

"I'm okay," Yui reassured her.  She gave Kiyoko a onceover.  "But what about you?  They didn't hurt you, did they?"

The man with the fake smile stepped forward, "Miss Michimiya, my name is Colonel Oikawa Tooru, and I am so sorry.  There's been a grave misunderstanding."

Yui turned to Oikawa, one eyebrow cocked in confusion and disbelief.

Oikawa placed a hand on Yui's shoulder—she repressed the urge to shudder—and continued, "We had no idea how nobly you fought to protect our Kiyoko from those awful pirates."

Yui sputtered, "Your Kiyoko?"  Yui shrugged off Oikawa's hand, then turned to Kiyoko and asked, "What's he talking about?"

Kiyoko inhaled, then stepped away from Yui, "Yui, do this for me.  Forget about Laputa."

Yui wanted to have misheard Kiyoko, but that was as likely as Oikawa being genuine.  Kiyoko couldn't really mean that, could she?  "What are you saying?" she whispered.

"It's been decided that the search for Laputa will be made secretly by the army with Kiyoko's cooperation," Oikawa cut in.  He placed a hand on Kiyoko's shoulder, "Really, the best thing you can do is forget you ever heard of the place."

"Forget about Laputa?" Yui asked Oikawa, incredulous.  She turned back to Kiyoko, hoping for some sort of explanation, but Kiyoko refused to make eye contact.

"I'm sorry I caused you so much trouble," Kiyoko whispered.  "I hope that someday you can forgive me."

Yui looked between Kiyoko's downturned face and Oikawa's overly sweet smile.  She preferred to look at Kiyoko, but the other girl was, frustratingly enough, still not looking at _her._  "I can't forget, no way!" Yui shouted.  "Laputa means to much to both of us, Kiyoko!  We were going to find Laputa together.  I can't let that go, and I can't let you go either!"

Yui could see the tears in Kiyoko's eyes as she turned away from Yui.  "Goodbye," Kiyoko said, fleeing down the hallway.

"Kiyoko!" Yui called, making to race after her.  "Come back!"

Oikawa wrapped an arm around Yui's waste, dragging her back to stand in front of him.  "Behave, little girl, use your head!" he growled.

Yui watched as one of Oikawa's men caught up to Kiyoko.  He led her through a door, the wood clicking shut behind them.  Yui's shoulders slumped, and she let out a soft whimper of disbelief.  Oikawa relaxed his grip, satisfied that Yui wouldn't chase after Kiyoko.

"Here," he said, dropping three gold coins into Yui's hand, "take this.  A little something to show our appreciation of your efforts.  Kawanishi will show you out."

Oikawa turned on his heel and strode down the hallway, disappearing through the same door Kiyoko had.  Yui stood rooted to the spot until Kawanishi, the ginger man from before, took her by the arm and led her to the gate.  He handed Yui her bag, her hat, and the clothes Kiyoko had borrowed the day before.  Yui took them without a word.  Equally silent, Kawanishi turned and walked back into the fortress.  Yui watched him go before glancing back up at the imposing stone walls.  Kiyoko was still in there, and she had decided to deal with things on her own.  Without Yui.  Tears welled up in Yui's eyes, stinging them and blurring her vision.  She turned and ran, away from Kiyoko, and away from Laputa.  There was nothing else she could do.

Back in the high tower overlooking the gate, Oikawa and Kiyoko watched Yui run down the path.  Kiyoko could feel her heart shattering as guilt and remorse crashed into her like waves on a beach, but this was the only way to keep Yui safe from Oikawa and Ushijima.  Kiyoko didn’t even jolt as Oikawa slipped the necklace around her throat.

"Only you can do it," Oikawa said, clasping the two ends of the necklace together.  "Remember the words that bring the crystal to life."

When Kiyoko didn't respond, Oikawa leaned down to whisper into her ear, "Keep your promise, and you too will be free."

Kiyoko waited until the door closed behind Oikawa before she finally broke down and cried.

***

Night had barely fallen by the time Yui reached the village.  She stumbled down the broken cobblestone street, head hung in shame at her inability to protect Kiyoko.  Completely numb, her legs moved on autopilot, the three gold coins in her hand weighing her down emotionally.  She wanted nothing more than to just go home and sleep for a hundred years.

"Yui!" a voice shouted.  "Uncle Keiji!  Uncle Koutarou!  It's Yui!  Yui's outside!"

You looked up to see Shouyou run into Mister Bokuto's house.  She froze.  Yui didn't want to look Mister Akaashi in the eye and explain where Kiyoko was.  She didn't want to explain that she couldn't protect the one person that mattered.  She-.

Mister Akaashi and Mister Bokuto stepped onto their front step.  They scanned the street until they spotted Yui.

"Hey, Michimiya!" Mister Bokuto said, rushing over to her, Mister Akaashi not far behind.  "Michimiya, where have you been?  We were all worried about you!"

Yui looked down at her shoes, tears threatening to spill over if she looked up.

"What happened to your friend?" Mister Akaashi asked.

"It's over now," Yui said, finally looking up.

"What?" Mister Bokuto and Mister Akaashi asked in unison.

"Yui, what do you mean by that?" Mister Akaashi pressed.

Yui squared her shoulders, fighting back the tears as best as she could.  She opened her mouth to explain, but nothing came out except for a choked sob.  Yui pushed past Mister Bokuto and Mister Akaashi, ignoring their shouted words.  Blinded by tears, Yui ran up the street until cobblestone turned to dirt.  She kept running.  She had to keep running.  If she stopped, all of her regrets would catch up to her, all of the anger and sadness and guilt would eat her alive.  She kept going until she tripped over an uneven patch of dirt.  Yui fell forward, the ground biting and scraping at her hands and knees as the gold coins flew from her hand.  She winced at the pain, but she knew she deserved it.  Yui pushed herself up onto her knees, the glint of the coins in the moonlight grasping her attention.  With a snarl, she grabbed the coins from the dirt and lifted them high.  She gritted her teeth, ready to cast them away, but she couldn't.  Yui's shoulders slumped, her hands coming to rest in her lap.  She was too weak.  Too weak to protect Kiyoko, too weak to throw away Oikawa's money.  For the first time in hours, Yui let herself cry.

Sobs wracked Yui's body as she sat in the middle of the path.  Yui knew she was a sight to behold, but she didn't care, no one was around to hear her.  She cried until her eyes were red and dry, her sobs reduced to nothing but hiccups.  Yui had to admit, it felt sort of good to cry that much.  It was cathartic, in a way.  Yui wiped at her eyes with clenched fists before slowly rising.  She took a deep breath, placing the coins in her bag before finishing the trek to her house.  She could cry more in private.

Yui reached the bottom of her brick walkway within minutes.  She skirted around the hole she had left the day before, shuffling towards the front door.  Yui began to make a mental checklist of everything she needed to do once inside: make food, cry, wash up, cry, sleep, destroy everything related to Laputa.  Yui shook her head; that last one was still a maybe.  Maybe she could revise it to find a way to save Kiyoko?  Before Yui really had time to dwell on it, the front door to her cabin burst open.  Yui jumped as a pair of strong hands grabbed her by the shoulders and hauled her inside, the front door swinging shut behind her.  As Yui was slammed to the floor, she stared up at the faces of Sawamura and his gang. 

"Welcome home," Sawamura said.  "Let's have a talk."

Yui groaned; this really hadn't been her day.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yui gains some unlikely allies, Kiyoko's connection to Laputa causes problems for Oikawa and Ushijima.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey team! So we've reached the second part of what was originally chapter 5. Had I not split up chapters 5 and 6, the original chapter 5 would have been 8.6k words long and that is... A Lot of content. So here's chapter 6! There may be a delay on chapter 7, as grad school applications are coming up. You can check for updates on my [tumblr](http://humandisasterbuckybarnes.tumblr.com), just look under the "Castle in the Sky au" tag. As always, thank you to everyone who has rec'd this fic, left kudos, commented, bookmarked, subscribed, everything. You all are so fantastic, and I love writing this for you as much as you love reading it, so thank you for your continued support!
> 
> Enjoy!

Yui wasn't sure what offended her more—the fact that these pirates had ambushed her in her own home, that they had been hiding there since the day before, or that they had eaten her food.  Yui was inclined to lean towards the first, but as she watched the pirates make themselves comfortable at her table with the food _she_ had bought with _her_ hard earned money while _she_ was being held back by the big guy with the bun, Yui couldn't help but let her bias lean towards the other two options just a little bit.  They big guy—Asahi, she thought his name was—had been nice enough to pick her up off the floor, but not until someone else had tied a rope around her wrists.

"I have had a very long day," Yui growled at a seemingly uncaring Daichi.  "I would appreciate it if you all would leave my house.  Right.  Now."

"Not until we've talked a bit about your friend," Koushi told her.

Yui snarled at Koushi.  She lurched forward enough to catch Asahi off guard, but not enough to break free.  "Get out!" Yui shrieked.  "Get out, or I'll throw you out!"  Asahi hauled Yui back, his grip on her shoulders tight.  "This is my house!" she snapped, her voice weak.

Ryuu, who had been standing next to Yui's fireplace, snickered.  "You hear that, Sugawara?  She'll throw us out if we don't leave," Ryuu taunted.

"Sorry to say, but there's not a lot you can do against us on your own," Daichi said.  "You did put up a good effort in town, though.  You almost got away from us.  So, where's the one with the necklace?"

One of the pirates—Yuu, Yui thought—rooted around in Yui's bag, pulling out the coins from Oikawa.  "Found three gold pieces.  There's no way she got that from anyone in this town."

Daichi and Koushi exchanged a look before turning back to Yui.  "So," Daichi began, "you sold her for money.  I didn't think you'd be the type."

Yui felt her blood boil.  She strained against the ropes, shouting, "You don't know what you're talking about!"

Koushi gave Yui an unimpressed look, "They offered you money, and you took it, didn't you?"

"It's not like I wanted to!" Yui snapped.  "Oikawa gave me the money as I left, sure, but I only left because Kiyoko told me to!"

"So you believed her, and you came back here, right?" Daichi asked.  "You ran away."

Yui scoffed, "Says you!  You're the ones who ambushed me in my own home!  You don't even have the guts to stand up to Oikawa and the army!"

Asahi's mumble of, "She has a point" was interrupted as Ryuu chimed in, "He who turns and runs away, can steal the treasure another day!"

"That was a good one, Ryuu," Yuu said.  "Did you come up with that one on your own?"

"I did.  I'm a master of poetic proverbs."

Ignoring Ryuu and Yuu, Daichi leaned forward, "Don't you think it's strange that the army's gotten into the kidnapping business?"

Yui straightened in Asahi's grip.  "What do you mean?"

Koushi leaned forward, resting his head in his hands, "Do you really think they'd have kept you alive if your friend Kiyoko hadn't intervened?"

"Don't you see that they forced her to make a deal?" Daichi added.

Yui's eyes widened; she hadn't thought of that.

"What my captain is trying to say is, she saved your life," Asahi said.

"Thank you, Asahi, we were getting to that," Daichi said, expression and tone neutral.

 At that moment, a strange device began to chime from Yui's nightstand.  Chikara lunged for it, knocking several things off of the nightstand in his attempt to reach it.  He held a receiver up to his ear as he thumbed through a brown notebook.  He smirked as he thumbed through the book.

"They changed the code.  Good luck keeping me out," he muttered.  He looked up at Daichi and Koushi, "They're calling for air destroyer _Shiratorizawa_.  They're planning to take off with Kiyoko.  We gotta hurry, or it'll be too late."

Daichi and Koushi stood up from the table.  "Come on, boys.  Time to go!"

The pirates erupted into chaos as they packed up their equipment and Yui's food.  Yui watched with amazement, letting Asahi guide her to one of her own chairs and force her to sit down.

"Wait, are you gonna rescue Kiyoko?" she asked.

"Nope, we just want her crystal," Yuu replied, pulling down his goggles from the top of his head.

"Don’t get me wrong, she's beautiful, and I understand why you'd want her saved," Ryuu added.  "It's just, you know, priorities."

Yui had an idea.  "Wait, you've gotta have Kiyoko to make the aetherium crystal work.  Otherwise, it's useless."  The pirates all paused to look between Yui and Daichi.  Yui puffed herself up a bit and continued, "Sawamura, please let me come with you."

Daichi eyed Yui as he toyed with his goggles.  He slipped them on so they rested on his forehead and pulled on his gloves.  "Why should I bring you along?  You're the one who left her in the first place."

Yui ignored that particular jab at her character, "Maybe you're right.  I should have protected Kiyoko, but instead I let some creep convince me to walk away.  Let me come with you, and I swear I'll protect her this time!  I need to save her!  Kiyoko means everything to me!"

Ryuu poked his head from around the edge of the brick tower and singsonged, "Yui loves Kiyoko."

Daichi turned to Ryuu and glared at him.  Ryuu shrank back out of sight.  Daichi turned back to Yui, staring intensely at her.  Yui maintained eye contact, refusing to back down.  Daichi laughed, moving to stand in front of Yui.

"I guess you'd be useful in getting Kiyoko to cooperate.  You might never come back here, Yui."

"I know."

"Ready for what might happen?"

Yui nodded.  Daichi stepped around behind Yui, pulled out a knife, and cut the ropes from Yui's wrists.

"We leave here in one minute," he said.

That minute passed in a blur.  Yui ran down to the basement to grab her goggles and her father's journal about Laputa before racing outside.  The pirates already had their crow-shaped flyers revved up and ready to go.  Yuu and Asahi were strapped to one, Ryuu and Chikara to another.  Koushi had strapped himself to one by himself and was shouting orders at the two men standing off to the side, telling them to rendezvous at the ship.  Daichi waved down Yui, motioning for her to jump onto his flyer.

"Fasten this to your belt," he shouted over the buzz of the flyer's wings.

Once Yui was strapped in, Daichi pulled back on the lever.  The flyer lurched into the air, and they were soon joined by three other flyers.  They rose higher into the sky until they were clear of any cliff faces.  Yui shouted directions to the fortress to Daichi, and they took off into the night.

The crow-shaped flyers were faster than Yui expected them to be, but she worried about whether or not they'd be fast enough.  The countryside whipped by beneath them as they soared over fields and rivers.  Any other time, Yui would have been mesmerized, but time was of the essence.

Daichi seemed to sense Yui's anxiety.  He turned to the others and called, "Hurry, we have to get there before sun-up!"

'Don't worry, Kiyoko,' Yui thought.  'I'm coming back for you!'

***

With a deafening roar, the air destroyer _Shiratorizawa_ docked at the military fortress.  Oikawa and Ushijima watched its progress from the roof, the wind tugging at their coats.

"Oikawa, has the girl surrendered the information?" Ushijima asked.

Oikawa did his best not to glare at Ushijima.  "It will take a little more time," he snapped.

Ushijima let out a noncommittal hum in response.  "You'll have plenty of that aboard _Shiratorizawa_.  We set out with her at first light."

Oikawa left without giving Ushijima a response.  He made his way down from the tower, meeting up with Iwaizumi at the bottom.

"Is she still sulking?" Oikawa asked.

"What do you think?" Iwaizumi asked in return.

"I'm running out of time, I need her to cooperate now," Oikawa muttered.  "Before Ushijima has a chance to intervene."

"Or before Sawamura does," Iwaizumi added.

"Exactly."

"So, do you have any ideas?" Iwaizumi asked.

"Still working on it, but I'm not opposed to improvisation if needed."

"Say the word, Mattsukawa, Hanamaki and I are all on standby and ready to create a diversion if needed."

Before Oikawa could reply, he say a glimmering light out of the corner of his eye.  Oikawa turned and raced to the window.  The same bright teal light as before shone from Kiyoko's window.  Oikawa grinned.

"Thank you, Iwaizumi, but I think I just hit the payload."

***

Kiyoko hadn't moved from the window.  The most she had done was sit down on the stone bench next to it and rest her head against the wall.  There was nothing else she could do, really.  She knew that Oikawa was never going to let her go, but at the very least, Yui was safe.  Yui was free to live the rest of her life in peace.  So why did it hurt so much to imagine Yui living her life without Kiyoko? 

Kiyoko closed her eyes, trying to think of something other than Yui.  A memory came to mind, of Kiyoko when she was much younger, when her grandmother was still alive.  Her parents had just died, and she was seeking comfort from her grandmother.  Her grandmother offered to teach Kiyoko a spell, something to take her mind off of things, an ancient spell that would help Kiyoko if she was in trouble.  She had said it once, then Kiyoko had tried to repeat it back to her, but the unfamiliar words had gotten tangled in Kiyoko's mouth.  Her grandmother had explained that the spell meant "save me, and revive the eternal light", then repeated the spell again.  Maybe that was the comfort she needed at that moment.  It was a long spell, but Kiyoko could still remember the words.

"Lite latuperito ulus areolus balo neetoril," Kiyoko whispered.

The reaction was instantaneous.  The teal light radiated from crystal as a gust of wind blew through the room.  As if summoned by the crystal, Oikawa arrived.  He shoved the door open, and shielded his eyes against the wind and light. 

"I knew it!" he cried, forcing his way across the room to Kiyoko.  "It's the sacred light!  The ancient documents were true, it's not just a legend!"

Kiyoko cradled the crystal in her palm and stared up at Oikawa, "What are you talking about?"

Oikawa reached out to touch the crystal.  A burst of energy shot out and zapped Oikawa's hand.  With a grunt of pain, he pulled his hand back and glared at the stone.  Kiyoko took an involuntary step back.

"Tell me the spell!" Oikawa commanded.  "What are the secret words?"

Unbeknownst those the room, something began to stir within the fortress.

***

Down in the depths of the fort, two rather unfortunate soldiers heard a loud bang.  They turned to look at each other, then down the hallway towards the workshop.

"Did you hear that?"

"Yeah."

They made their way down the hall, coming to a halt in front of the metal doors.  They pushed the doors opened, and screamed.  The robot was alive, and it was crawling forward on all fours.  The two soldiers screamed and ran back down the hallway.  One tried to shut the door, but the robot stopped it with its head and broken arm.  One soldier made it to the emergency phone.  He grabbed it while the other pointed his gun at the robot.

"If anyone can hear me, the robot is alive!  I'm telling you, the robot is alive!" he shouted, hoping that someone somewhere along the line would raise the alarm.

There was a blinding flash from down the hallway.  Cuts appeared in the stone walls surrounding the doorway.  Before either soldier knew what was happening, their world exploded around them.

Upstairs, Kiyoko and Oikawa jumped as the sound of an explosion ripped through the fortress.  They stared at each other, then at the crystal as the light dimmed.  They could hear the faint screams of the soldiers, something about something being alive.  Oikawa grabbed Kiyoko's arm, dragging her across the room and out the door.

"What's happening?" he snapped as Iwaizumi ran up to them.

"It's the robot," Iwaizumi explained.  "It's come to life."

Oikawa stared at Iwaizumi.  "What?"

"I'll show you, come on."

Iwaizumi led Oikawa and Kiyoko down a hall into a brightly lit room.  A wave of heat knocked into Kiyoko, and would have sent her reeling if not for Oikawa's grip on her arm.  He pulled her inside and onto a wooden bridge.  Kiyoko gasped at the raging inferno that greeted them.  Below, hundreds of soldiers screamed as they raced out of the path of destruction.  Through the smoke and embers, Kiyoko could barely make out a figure slowly, but methodically climbing the stone stairs up from the depths of the fortress.

"I'll bet it's coming for the crystal," Oikawa said.

They watched as bullets ricocheted off of the robot's chest, doing nothing to impede its progress.  Someone called for the fire door to be shut.  Kiyoko watched as two wooden panels slid into place, blocking the fire and the robot from sight.  Oikawa seemed to relax a little, but only for a second.  A light flashed through the gap of the fire doors, and they all looked on in horror as the wood glowed red, then orange, then white hot before a wave of fire obliterated the doors as if they were nothing.  The robot emerged, undaunted by the flame that rained down around it.

"Do you see that power?" Oikawa gasped.  He grabbed Kiyoko, turning her to face him.  "It's your crystal!  The force of the sacred light has brought the robot back to life!  The way to Laputa has been opened!"

Kiyoko tried to wrench her hand from Oikawa's grip, the hot air choking her as she cried, "Let me go!"

As if sensing Kiyoko's distress, the robot trained its gaze on the trio.  A single laser shot from the smaller cylinder, slicing the bridge in half.  The side Iwaizumi and Oikawa were on began to collapse, forcing the two men to run to the safety of the other side.  Sensing that her own side was about to meet the same fate, Kiyoko sprinted for the doorway.  She made it to stable ground just as the bridge collapsed into the inferno below.  Kiyoko turned back, noting the distance between her and Oikawa; she was safe, for now.

Down below, the robot extended its arms.  A thin membrane formed in between the protrusions on its arms, and a set of twin boosters within its chest activated.  The robot propelled itself up and out of the flames.  Despite its lack of balance combined the fact that it ran into almost every obstacle it could, the robot had a clear target; it was headed for Kiyoko.

"It can fly?" Kiyoko heard Iwaizumi shout just before the robot collided with the ledge he and Oikawa were standing on.

Oikawa and Iwaizumi bolted in fear of the ledge collapsing out from under them.  The robot latched onto the edges, staring at Kiyoko upside down.  Kiyoko turned and ran back through the doorway, the cold air making her shiver as she ran.  She could hear the robot dragging itself behind her, its body scraping against the floor and making Kiyoko clench her teeth against the sound.  She ducked around a corner, finding herself next to a set of stairs.  As the robot peeked its head around the corner, Kiyoko ran up the stairs.  The light of her crystal illuminated her path, but also drew the robot in like a beacon.  Kiyoko was going to trap herself, but she had no other alternatives.  She reached the roof, a turret overlooking the fortress's courtyard.    Wind tugged at her hair and clothes as Kiyoko fought to orient herself, but she had no such luck.  The crystal released another burst of light, blinding Kiyoko temporarily before it narrowed, focusing into a single beam that shot off into the night.  Kiyoko watched it, realization dawning on her—the light was pointing her to Laputa.

***

In another turret, Oikawa followed the beam of light.  "Finally," he whispered, "I know the way to Laputa."

Oikawa turned to Iwaizumi, who was struggling to set up a broadcasting system, "Hurry, no time to waste!"

"I'm working on it, Shittykawa," Iwaizumi grumbled under his breath, nodding at Hanamaki.

Hanamaki nodded in return, opened the power box on the wall, and began cutting some wires.

Inside the _Shiratorizawa_ , Ushijima was trying to keep his cool while surrounded by dozens of panicked men.  He pressed the receiver closer to his ear and shoved a finger in the other to block out the noise.

"What do you mean, 'robot'?" he asked the panicked soldier on the other end.  "I want to know who's trying to blow up my fort."

The line went dead.  Ushijima stared at the receiver before pressing it back to his ear.

"Are you there?  Somebody answer me now!" he said.

Back on the turret, Hanamaki stepped back to admire his handiwork.  "Alright, we should be all set," he called over his shoulder.

Iwaizumi pressed a few buttons on the machine, then turned to Oikawa, "You should be connected now."

"Perfect," Oikawa said, picking up the receiver.  "Hello, this is Colonel Oikawa.  We have an emergency.  You'll be taking your orders from me know."

***

The robot found her with ease.  Kiyoko backed away from the edge of the turret as a beam of light sliced through it.  A portion of the wall crumbled before falling into the darkness below.  Kiyoko pressed herself against the stone wall as the robot emerged from the rubble and made its way toward her.   It stopped a few feet from Kiyoko, then pressed its hand just below the Laputian emblem.  A beam of light shot from the crystal to the robot's emblem before fading.  There was a tense moment as Kiyoko and the robot stared at each other.  The robot extended its hand to Kiyoko as a mortar screamed over the edge of the tower.

The explosion blasted the robot back from Kiyoko, and slammed her back against the wall, knocking her unconscious.  The necklace flew off from around her neck, and plunged off the side of the tower, still glowing as it hit the ground.  The robot collapsed onto the rooftop, lying motionless as its lights flickered out.  Soldiers swarmed onto the roof, some poking at the robot, others poking at Kiyoko.

"Is she dead?" one asked.

"No, I think, she's just knocked out," another said.

One reached out a hand to Kiyoko, but was stopped when the robot brought its hand down between him and Kiyoko.  The soldiers leapt backwards as the robot sat upright.  Lasers shot from the robot's smaller eye, blowing up everything it came in contact with.  Soldiers on both the roof and the ground scrambled for cover as the fortress was brought down around them.  As it fired, the robot scooped Kiyoko off of the ground and cradled her to its chest, intent on protecting her.

***

They were cutting it close, in Yui's opinion.  The sun was starting to rise, and they were still a few miles out.  Daichi knew it too, and pushed his flyer to go as fast as possible.  It rattled slightly, the machine clearly not used to the speeds at which Daichi was making it run, but time was of the essence.  They flew over an embankment, and the sight that greeted them ripped a gasp from Yui.  Ahead of them was Ushijima's fort, and it was on fire.

"Must be some kind of war going on," Koushi shouted over the wind.

"Take her down, Daichi!" Yui commanded.

As Daichi shifted the steering column, Yui could hear him snap, "Call me 'Captain'!"  The four flyers dropped into a single file line as they soared down the country lane.  Daichi turned back to the others and shouted, "Keep your heads down!"

He accelerated once more, and Yui gripped the handles so hard that her knuckles turned white.

'Hold on Kiyoko, I'm almost there!'  Yui thought.

*** 

Heat and wind.  All Kiyoko could feel when she came to was heat and wind.  She lifted her head, and opened her eyes, gasping as she took everything in.  The fortress as engulfed in flame, everything consumed by the robot's destruction.  The smell of burning wood and hot metal flooded Kiyoko's nose, and she resisted the urge to gag.  A flash of light caught her attention.  Kiyoko realized the robot was holding her, and she turned to watch it.  The robot fired laser after laser from its eye, creating more destruction with each passing moment.

"Stop it, you're destroying everything!" Kiyoko cried, climbing the robot and cradling its head.  "Please, stop!"

Kiyoko's weight caused the robot's head to tilt as it fired.  A stray laser shot over the wall of the fortress, colliding with something in the nearby village.  In the wake of the beam, Kiyoko could see four objects rapidly approaching the fortress.  She prayed that they weren't civilians coming to inspect the damage.

***

"Captain, _Shiratorizawa_ is moving!" Chikara yelled.

Sure enough, the air destroyer was moving away from its docking station.  It was, however, staying near the fortress.  And it was training its guns on the roof.

"Daichi, if we stay on this heading, we'll be in the line of fire!" Koushi said.

"Change course!" Daichi commanded, steering the flyer in a different direction.

"I can see Kiyoko!" Yui called. 

"Where'd you see her?" Daichi asked.

"Steady as she goes, Captain," Yui said, pointing to one of the towers closest to the cliff.  "She's on top of that tower!"

"Cover me, I'm going in!" Daichi shouted to the others. 

"Good luck!" Asahi shouted back.

Daichi and Yui raced forward, clearing the wall of the fortress with ease.  Daichi angled the flyer until they were heading straight for Kiyoko.  Yui covered her nose and mouth as they flew through a plume of smoke.  Yui hated every moment of it, but it was the fastest way to get to Kiyoko.  Once clear, Yui leaned off the side of the flyer.  She stretched her arm out and screamed, "Kiyoko!"

Kiyoko, who had been clinging to the robot, looked up at the sound of Yui's voice.  She smiled with relief and shouted, "Yui!"

Daichi angled the flyer as best as he could against the buffeting winds of the fire.  Yui leaned towards Kiyoko.

"We've got to get in a little closer, Daichi!" Yui called.

Daichi brought the flyer in closer, but the wing bounced off the edge of the tower.  The two ricocheted off the stone with a screech and dipped down.  Daichi fought to right the flyer as Yui clung to it for dear life.

"Yui!" Kiyoko cried.  She made to leap off of the robot, but it caught her, dragging her back into its chest.  "They're here to help me!" Kiyoko snapped at the robot.  "Please, put me down!"

To Kiyoko's amazement, the robot listened.  It set her down gently on the edge of the tower before retracting its hand.  Kiyoko watched as the robot touched the emblem on its chest, and gave her a quick nod.

The air destroyer above brought an end to the serene moment.  A single shell ripped into the robot, showering Kiyoko in sparks.  Around them, several other shells rained down, demolishing buildings in their wake.  Daichi and Yui rocketed in front of one blast wave, but were met with another.  As Daichi turned to survey the explosion, a piece of debris slammed into Daichi's face, breaking his goggles and knocking him unconscious.  Yui shouted as the flyer jolted up, reached the top of its arc, then the engine cut and the flyer plummeted back down to earth.  Yui struggled to reach the controls.  On the one hand, Daichi was strapped into the flyer, he wasn't about to fall off.  On the other hand, he was blocking the controls.  Yui shoved Daichi out of the way just enough to grab the steering column.  She tugged on it, but nothing happened.

"Come on," she groaned, tugging on it again.

There was a grinding noise.  Just as they reached the sea below, the wings reengaged.  With a splash, the flyer raced forward; Yui could have cried.  The only issue now was getting airborne.  With the cliffs rapidly approaching, Yui could feel her sense of relief slipping away.

"Come on, pull up!" she shouted, tugging at the controls.

A hand came down to rest on her head.  Yui watched as Daichi pulled himself forward and grabbed the controls.  He tugged on them, and the flyer was airborne.  They skimmed the cliff face and found themselves face-to-face with the inferno.

"Daichi, are you okay?" Yui asked, examining the bruise forming on Daichi's face.

"I'm fine.  It's now or never, Yui," Daichi said.  "I'll take us in, and you grab her."

"Right!" Yui shouted.  She checked that her goggles were securing her hat to her head, then took a breath.  She turned around, braced her feet against the railings of the flyer and leaned over the back.  Hanging upside down, Yui was eternally grateful for the strap connecting her to the flyer.

Kiyoko turned to look at the robot.  Using the last of its energy, it reached for Kiyoko.  Kiyoko reached a hand out, her fingertips brushing the robot's before she scrambled onto the remaining section of wall.  She waved her arms at Daichi and Yui.

"Yui, over here!" she yelled.

"Kiyoko, jump!" Yui shouted.

Kiyoko jumped sideways as the flyer flew parallel to the tower.  She collided with Yui, and instantly wrapped her arms around the other girl.  Kiyoko felt Yui's arms wrap around her torso, and she knew that Yui wouldn't drop her.  Kiyoko was safe.

Yui felt Daichi tug on her safety strap.  He hauled Yui back onto the flyer, and together they helped pull Kiyoko up.  Once Kiyoko was secure, Daichi shot the flyer over the fortress wall towards freedom.  They had done it; they had saved Kiyoko.

***

"What are you doing, fools!" Oikawa shouted as he watched the trio make a break for the wall.  "Don't let her escape!"

He watched dumbfounded as the flyer sailed over the wall.  He ran, Iwaizumi and Hanamaki hot on his heels.

 "An entire army and they're getting away," Oikawa snapped.

"There might be a reason for that," Hanamaki said.  "Look up."

Oikawa looked up, and tripped over his feet in shock.  Sawamura's henchmen were flying circles around the _Shiratorizawa_ , covering it in colorful smoke.  He could swear the silver-haired one actually had the audacity to stick his tongue out at him.

"Unbelievable," Iwaizumi groaned.

"This is not over," Oikawa growled, watching as the flyers finished their maneuvers, then vanished over the wall.

"Oikawa," came Ushijima's voice from behind.  The four men turned as Ushijima stormed out of the ruined fortress.  "My own air destroyer fired munitions without my command.  Do you know something about this?"

Oikawa sneered at him, "I might."

Ushijima's eyes narrowed.  "What happened to the robot?"

"We destroyed it," Oikawa said, his tone light.  "Oh, and the girl's gone."

"This should go without saying, then, but your whole operation was a disaster," Ushijima said, his own tone steady and matter-of-fact.  "This wouldn't have happened if we had stuck with my plan in the first place."

Oikawa approached Ushijima, the smile on his face never wavering, "This.  Isn't.  Over."

Ushijima's face remained impassive, turning to his remaining men.  "Extinguish the fires and organize a pursuit team.  We'll go after Sawamura and the girl ourselves."

Oikawa glared at Ushijima until Mattsukawa approached. 

"I think we found what we're looking for," he whispered, gesturing for Oikawa and the others to follow.  He led them to the base of the now destroyed tower, and motioned at the pile of rubble.

Oikawa crouched down to examine the debris.  Nestled among the charred stones was the aetherium crystal, still glowing softly.  With slow, cautious movements, Oikawa reached forward and tapped the stone; nothing happened.  Smiling, Oikawa picked it up.

"It still possesses its sacred light," he murmured.  He held the crystal out, and watched as a single beam of light emerged to point at the clouds.  "And it's still pointing to Laputa."

Oikawa turned to Iwaizumi.  "Go tell the General for me.  We will be departing on time.  We don't need the girl after all."

Up on the roof, the damaged robot's lights flickered once, then powered off forever.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kiyoko and Yui join the crew of the Karasuno, and have a heart to heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Team! How's it going? It's been a while. I know this was supposed to go up last Friday, but I had to take a week off. I had 4 grad school apps due today, so I took last week to finish those up and get them in. And I did! I applied to grad school! So, I'm posting this today because it's done and I won't really have time to post this tomorrow. We're entering endgame territory, which is blowing my mind a little bit. Chapter 8 will be up on February 16th, chapter 9 will be up on March 2nd, and chapter 10 (the LAST CHAPTER) will be up on March 16th!
> 
> As always, thank you to everyone who has read this/left a comment or kudos/subscribed. You all are amazing, and I can't wait to share the last three chapters with you. Enjoy chapter 7!

They had been flying for hours, the sun high in the sky as they soared over the lush, green countryside.  Yui would have appreciated the beauty of the scenery a lot more if it hadn't been for the overwhelming tension that blanketed the group.  After their escape, the pirates had fallen oddly silent.  Daichi and Koushi had exchanged a brief look after Kiyoko declared the necklace lost, and neither had spoken since.  Daichi kept staring straight ahead, his face impassive as he expertly handled the crow-shaped flyer.  The silence made Yui uncomfortable, but she knew it had to be much worse for Kiyoko.  Yui had to hand it to Kiyoko, she was handling things better than Yui would have.  Just the thought of what Oikawa had put her through made Yui's blood boil.  Yui admired Kiyoko's strength.  Yui gave Kiyoko a reassuring squeeze with the arm she had wrapped around the other girl's shoulders.  Kiyoko clenched her fist, bunching up a part of Yui's shirt.  She had long since stopped crying, but Yui wanted to keep Kiyoko as close as possible.

"Hey, Kiyoko, are you going to be okay?" Ryuu called from his nearby flyer.

Yuu chimed in from his flyer, "If we did something wrong, we'd like to apologize for it, Kiyoko."

"Well, I think the chasing and the near death experience counts as something wrong," Yui heard Asahi say to Yuu.

Daichi glanced over his shoulder at Yui, "Your valley's up ahead.  We'll drop you off and that'll be that."

Yui glanced between Kiyoko and Daichi; she had an idea.  "Daichi, will you let us sail with you and the boys?" she asked.

Koushi pulled up alongside their flyer, peering at Yui with intense scrutiny, "I don't see what's in it for us, since you lost the aetherium crystal."

 "We could work," Yui pointed out.

"I have to find out the real truth about Laputa for myself," Kiyoko said, speaking for the first time in hours.  She pulled away from Yui enough to face Koushi, her gray eyes locking with his brown ones.

Koushi turned away from Kiyoko to look at Daichi.  He nodded once at Daichi, and Daichi returned the nod.  Part of Yui was amazed at their ability to hold a silent conversation, but the larger part of herself was concerned that hers and Kiyoko's pleas would fall on deaf ears.

"So, you're not interested in money," Daichi asked, "just the truth about Laputa?"

"Just the truth," Kiyoko affirmed.

Daichi let out a laugh, "Well, I guess there's worse reasons for wanting to become a pirate."

"Captain, I say let them come along!" Yuu said.

Daichi hummed, then turned back to Yui and Kiyoko, "I suppose we have room on the _Karasuno_ for two more."

Yui felt Kiyoko's shoulders slump in relief at the same time hers did.

"Yeah!  No more swabbing the decks!" Ryuu shouted.

"I won't have to wash the dishes!" Yuu added.

As Yuu and Ryuu flipped their flyers through the air, whooping and terrifying their partners, Koushi laughed, "Now, who said anything about you two getting out of your duties?"

Yui chuckled to herself, then stopped as they flew over a familiar sight.  Far below was the village, and on the hill above it was her cottage.  Yui felt a pang of longing for her home as they passed over it.  Daichi had said it himself, she might never see her home again.

"Are you okay with this, Yui?" Kiyoko whispered, as if she had read Yui's mind.

Yui took a deep breath, then turned to Kiyoko with a wide grin, "Of course I am!  I'll be with you."

Even as the pain of leaving tugged on her heartstrings and clouds obscured her cottage, Yui knew that what she had said was true.

***

The _Karasuno_ was both the most impressive and unimpressive thing Yui had ever seen.  Impressive in that it was shaped like a giant crow, and had the ability to dock flyers while in the air and moving.  Unimpressive in that it looked like it could fall apart at any second.  Well, Yui had to admit, the fact that it hadn't fallen apart yet added to the "impressive" side of the list.  Still, it was up and moving, and that was all Yui could ask for.

As their flyers approached the ship, the back hatch opened.  There was a man with blond hair and glasses standing just inside the hanger, waving them down with a minimal amount of enthusiasm.  Daichi angled the flyer towards the hanger, and before Yui knew it, they were inside the ship.  Daichi brought the flyer to a halt as set of claws dropped from the ceiling.  The claws gripped the flyer, sliding it into place near the front of the hanger.

"And disembark," Daichi said, unbuckling himself from the flyer.  He turned to the blond, "Kei, did Kazuhito and Hisashi make it back?"

"Tadashi picked them up hours ago," Kei replied.

Yui and Kiyoko followed Daichi off of the flyer.  As she landed on the wooden floor of the hanger, Yui lost her footing.  She staggered to the side, landing on something softer than expected.  She yelped, staggering backwards into Kiyoko.

"Woah, what is this ship made out of, cloth?" Yui asked.

"And don't you rip it," Koushi warned, hopping down from his own flyer.

Ryuu and Chikara dismounted, then gestured for Kiyoko and Yui to follow them.  They followed the pirates up a ladder.  As they reached the top, they were buffeted by winds stronger than they had anticipated.  Kiyoko was pushed along the deck until she gripped a nearby handrail.

"You'll get used to that eventually," Koushi said.  "Come on, we're heading for the main cabin."

Kiyoko and Yui made their way along the deck, reaching the bridge that formed the neck between the body-shaped deck and the crow's head-shaped bridge.  Kiyoko followed Koushi and Daichi inside, but as Yui made to follow them, Ryuu grabbed her by the shirt collar and dragged her backwards.  Yui yelped in surprise, catching Kiyoko's attention, but before Kiyoko could react, Koushi had pulled her inside the cabin with a stern, "Come on, time's of the essence."

"Work, work, busy, busy, left, right.  You're not here to have fun," Ryuu told Yui as he marched her back across the deck. 

The word "Posturing" crossed Yui's mind, but she decided to keep that thought to herself.  Well, until the next time she and Kiyoko were alone together, anyway.

Ryuu lead Yui through a door and down a long hallway until they reached another door.  Ryuu pulled it open, then gestured Yui inside.  Yui looked around, eyes wide in wonder.  They were standing in the engine room; Yui had never felt more in her element.

"This engine room is really amazing," Yui said.

"Oi, Sis, Hitoka, you two in here?" Ryuu shouted.

There was a clanging from somewhere in the room, followed by a high pitched yelp.  A loud string of cursing joined the clamor, and two blond heads poked out from the floor.  Yui jumped back as an older woman turned to glare at Ryuu.

"Ryuu, don't shout like that while we're working," the woman admonished, rubbing at a smudge of grease on her face.  "You almost gave Hitoka a heart attack."

Ryuu at least had the courtesy to look sheepish.  "Listen, Sis, I found you another assistant," Ryuu said, shouting to be heard over the machinery.

Hitoka gave Ryuu a kind smile, "We can hear you just fine, Ryuu.  You don't need to shout."  Hitoka turned to Yui.  "I'm Yachi Hito-."

Hitoka stopped midsentence, staring at Yui while her cheeks grew more red with each passing second.  Yui fidgeted and wondered if she had something on her face.  She probably did, considering how much ash and dust she had been exposed to over the last 48 hours.

Yui's discomfort was interrupted by Ryuu's sister laughing, "Pay no attention to Hitoka," she said.  "She gets that way around pretty girls."

"P-Pretty?" Yui stammered, her own cheeks turning red.

Ryuu's sister hauled herself up out of the trapdoor and offered her hand to Yui.  "I'm Tanaka Saeko, Ryuu's older sister and Head Engineer of the _Karasuno_.  Hitoka's my assistant."

Yui took Saeko's outstretched hand and was instantly pulled into a bone crushing hug.  When Saeko pulled away, Yui resisted the urge to cough.

"So, you'll be joining my team, huh?" Saeko asked.  "Happy to have you!  I can use all the help I can get.  This ship's not exactly in the greatest condition."

As if on cue, something began whistling below.  Hitoka ducked back down into the trapdoor, and Saeko followed suit, dragging Yui with her.  The length of the crawlspace was massive, but the height less so.  Yui and Saeko were forced to crawl along the floor to where Hitoka had sprawled on the floor, a wrench resting on her stomach.

"Saeko, it's just a little out of my reach," Hitoka called.  "Can you get it?"

Saeko stopped next to Hitoka, laying on her back and staring at the machinery.  "I could reach it, but I think the space is a little too narrow for my hands."

Yui scooted in next to Saeko, nudging her and Hitoka out of the way.  "It's okay, I got it," she said, reaching up into the machinery.

Saeko grinned at Yui, "I like having you around already."

***

"You're sure the light from the crystal was pointing east?" Daichi asked Kiyoko as Koushi drew a line on the map.

Kiyoko nodded, "I'm sure I could see the sun rising from the tower.  It is the end of grass-cutting season, so the sun rose not from due east, but a little further south.  The light was pointing to the left of the hill from which the sun rose.  You see?" 

Daichi and Koushi watched Kiyoko intently as she pointed at the map.  The studied the map, then smiled at Kiyoko.

"Pretty smart," Koushi commented.

Daichi turned to the cockpit and called to Chikara, "Found anything yet?"

"Haven't found a single thing, Captain," Chikara replied as he fiddled with a large telegraph machine.

Koushi sighed, running a hand through his hair.  "They're jamming the airwaves so we can't find them, the sly devils."

"Captain, how can we catch them when they're faster than we are?" Kazuhito asked as he turned from his navigation station to look at Daichi.

"Well, it looks like we're cruising on the windward side of them," Koushi said as he studied the map again.  He picked up a compass and twisted it across the map, measuring the distance.  "If we manage to ride the trade wind… Daichi, could you pass me that?"

Daichi picked up a nearby abacus and handed it to Koushi.  Koushi pushed around a few beads, numbers to himself before setting the abacus back down on the table.

"We'll catch them in no time," Koushi declared with a proud grin.

 Satisfied, Daichi grabbed a cone shaped device.  "Attention, all hands, now hear this," Daichi said, speaking into the cone.  " _Shiratorizawa_ is already underway for Laputa.  We're going after them.  If we can catch the wind, we'll be on their heels by tomorrow.  The first man to spy _Shiratorizawa_ will receive ten gold pieces.  And if the stories we heard about Laputa are true, there'll be enough treasure to make an honest pirate of us all."

Koushi reached forward, plucking the cone from Daichi's hands and crowing, "All hands aboard!  Look alive and get to work!"

There was a clamor outside of the cabin as various men from around the ship sprang into action.  Koushi flashed a satisfied grin at Kiyoko before placing the cone back into its holder. 

"Course 98, velocity 50," Daichi called to Kazuhito.

Kiyoko watched as the ship changed direction ever so slightly, then lurch forward with a burst of speed Kiyoko wouldn't have expected from a cloth ship.  Clouds passed as the _Karasuno_ rose higher in the sky.  They were on their way to Laputa.

Daichi made his way to the door, pausing briefly to motion for Kiyoko to follow him.  He led her back to the deck of the ship.  Kiyoko gripped the railing with all her might as the wind tugged at her clothes.

"You're going to need something a little studier than a nightgown if you're going to be on this ship," Daichi told Kiyoko as he led her across the deck.  He stopped in front of a random door and held it open for her.  "Luckily, you're about Saeko's size, and she won't mind if you borrow something of hers."

Kiyoko stepped inside.  There were two hammocks in the room—each strung across their own corner—and a dresser pushed up against one wall.  With the exception of a single, ornate rug, the room was otherwise bare.

"Come find me once you're done changing and we'll find something for you to do," Daichi said.  He gave Kiyoko a reassuring smile before leaving, closing the door behind him.

Kiyoko made her way to the dresser.  She pulled open a drawer and examined the clothing inside.

"Well, I guess if I'm going to be a pirate, I might as well start dressing like one," Kiyoko said, reaching for a pair of pink pants and a yellow shirt.

***

"I hope you don't mind working with Asahi in the galley," Daichi said as he led Kiyoko across the deck.  "He looks terrifying, but he's pretty harmless."

"I don't mind," Kiyoko said, tugging at the sleeve of her new shirt.  "Anything to help."

Daichi nodded, pushing open the door to the galley.  Inside, Asahi was elbow deep in soapy water.  He turned and gave Kiyoko a gentle smile.

"Asahi, you'll be working with Kiyoko," Daichi said.  "Kiyoko, if he or any of the others bother you, let me know.  I'll set them straight if they do."

Kiyoko smiled as Asahi yelped in protest behind her.  "Will do, Captain."

"Perfect, see you two at dinner time."

As the door closed behind Daichi, Kiyoko could hear him yelling at someone to get back to work.  Kiyoko turned back to Asahi.  "What would you like me to do?"

Asahi looked around the galley before settling on a pile of potatoes.  "Would you mind peeling those?" he asked.

Kiyoko gave Asahi a nod before settling down in front of the potatoes.  As she began to peel, Kiyoko found her thoughts drifting to Yui.  Kiyoko still couldn't believe what Yui had done for her.  The memory of Yui hanging upside down, beckoning for Kiyoko to jump into her arms, the feeling of those arms wrapping around Kiyoko and the immense relief she had felt… It was almost too much for Kiyoko.  Yui had come back for Kiyoko, even after Kiyoko had sent her away.  Kiyoko would never forget that.  She smiled to herself; Yui was the best thing to happen to Kiyoko in a long time.

Unbeknownst to Kiyoko, Yui was having a similar thought.  Granted, she was trying to take her mind off of the fact that was dangling off the side of a moving aircraft with a simple knot and the reflexes of a near stranger between her and a very painful death, but that was beside the point.  As Yui greased a hinge on one of the wings, her mind kept straying to Kiyoko.  The way that Kiyoko had gripped Yui's shirt, the tone of her voice as she whispered, "You came back for me", it broke Yui's heart.  But as she wiped the sweat from her brow, Yui found herself smiling.  She had saved Kiyoko.  she, Michimiya Yui, had saved Kiyoko.  Yui wanted to laugh.  She was a miner, and here she was, having a high flying adventure, saving a princess, teaming up with pirates.

'If only my parents could see me now,' Yui thought as Saeko tugged her back up towards the deck.

***

Ennoshita Chikara knew that something was amiss when Ryuu and Yuu were nowhere to be found.  One of them missing was one thing.  The two of them missing meant that trouble was afoot, and Chikara wasn't having it.  He was going to stop whatever mischief they were up to before it even began.  He just had to find them first.  The problem being, Chikara had scoured all of their usual hiding places, and much to his surprise, they hadn't been there.  He was starting to run out of places to look, and that was concerning.

'Well, if anyone's going to know where those two went, it's probably Asahi,' Chikara thought as he made his way to the galley.

Chikara pushed open the door to the galley, strolling inside without preamble.  "Asahi, have you seen Ryuu and Yuu, I can't find them anywhere…."

Chikara trailed off as he took in the sight of Ryuu and Yuu scrubbing the floor of the galley with vigor while Kiyoko and Asahi looked on with bemusement and slight horror plastered on their faces.   Tadashi and Kei were also present, Kei's face impassive while Tadashi snickered.  Ryuu and Yuu stopped their intense scrubbing only after Chikara cleared his throat a few times.

"Oh, hey Chikara," Ryuu said, his face flushing pink.

Chikara glanced between Ryuu and Kiyoko before settling on Ryuu.  "Really?"

"We're helping!" Ryuu explained, mildly offended.

"Yeah!" Yuu agreed.

"Is that what they're calling this?" Kei stage whispered to Tadashi.

Chikara inhaled, held his breath for a few seconds, then exhaled.  He strode forward, grabbing Ryuu and Yuu by the scruffs of their necks before hauling them to their feet.  They yelped in protest, but Chikara was too busy dragging them towards the door.  He shoved them outside before smiling at Kiyoko.

"Sorry if they've caused any problems," he said before slamming the door behind him. 

Chikara turned to Ryuu and Yuu, but they were already gone.  Chikara sighed; those two were going to need more supervision than normal.

***

"What's come over us, Daichi?" Koushi asked, moving one of his bishops.  "It's not like use to challenge a ship like _Shiratorizawa_.  You know the odds are against us."

Daichi moved his knight to claim a pawn.  "We're after treasure, that's all."

Koushi flashed Daichi a smile over the chessboard as he moved a rook.  "Daichi, I love you, but you are a terrible liar sometimes."

Daichi felt his cheeks warm up.  "I don't know what you're talking about," he muttered as he moved a piece without looking.

"Admit it, you like those girls," Koushi said. 

"Don't act like you don't."

"I never said I didn't," Koushi pointed out.  "That Kiyoko is a smart one."

"Yui's got a good heart," Daichi added.  "The two of them together could be an unstoppable force."

"They've got guts, that's for sure," Koushi said.  "I still can't believe we agreed to let them come along."

Daichi leaned back in his chair and ran a hand through his hair.  "I don't know why we did, if I'm honest.  There's something so… genuine about the two of them.  Yui was willing to give up everything for Kiyoko, and they only met the day before.  There's something there, Koushi, and I want to help them anyway I can."

"You're a big softie," Koushi said after a moment, a lopsided grin plastered on his face..

Daichi snorted, "You knew that when you married me."

Koushi hummed in agreement, turning his attention back to the chessboard.  "You're right.  And I also knew that you were terrible at chess.  That's checkmate."

Daichi blinked in surprise before staring at the board.  Sure enough, Koushi had him beat.  He glared at Koushi, "You cheater."

Koushi leaned over the chessboard to press a kiss to Daichi's forehead.  "A cheater, but a cheater who's going to help you help two random girls who we were enemies with 24 hours ago."

***

The rest of the evening had passed uneventfully.  Yui introduced Kiyoko to Saeko and Hitoka over dinner, and Chikara got to embarrass Ryuu and Yuu in front of Daichi and Koushi.  After dinner, Saeko set up cots for Yui and Kiyoko in her shared room.  While Kiyoko settled into her cot, Yui tracked down Daichi to volunteer for lookout duty.  He agreed with a laugh, and sent Yui back to Saeko's room with the promise that someone would wake her up for her shift. 

Yui had been asleep for a few hours when Ryuu came to get her.  He nudged her awake, then gestured her to follow.  Yui gathered her blanket and bag as quietly as she could, then followed Ryuu outside.  As she had anticipated, the altitude made the night air that much colder.  Yui fished around in her bag and pulled out a pair of gloves, tugging them on before following Ryuu  to a ladder on the side of the ship.  Ryuu gestured for her to climb the later before slinking back to the crew's quarters.   Yui climbed the ladder to the ship's Crow's Nest, finding a half asleep Yuu curled up under a blanket.

"I'm here to take over," she said, shaking him awake.

Yuu sat up with a start, then grinned at Yui.  "Thank you, you're the best."

Yui slipped to the side as Yuu scrambled over the edge of the Crow's Nest.  She watched him descend the latter before taking his place.  She lowered her goggles over her eyes, wrapped the blanket tight around her body, and settled in for an uneventful lookout shift.  That was until she saw a familiar form crawl up the ladder.  Kiyoko had come to join her.

"Kiyoko!" she exclaimed, pulling the other girl into the Crow's Nest before the wind could carry her off.  "You didn't have to come up here, you know."

"I know, but I wanted to."  Kiyoko smiled at Yui before turning to stare ahead.  "You can see forever up here, can't you?" she whispered.

Yui's cheeks were burning, and not from the cold.  Kiyoko looked more at peace in that moment than Yui had ever seen her.  Her haired flowed behind her, blending in with the inky black sky.  She looked right at home among the stars.  Yui shook her head, then focused her attention on the multitude of stars above and the fields of clouds ahead.  Kiyoko was right, Yui could see for miles.  It was a stunning view.

The night's chill finally caught up to Kiyoko, however, as a full body shiver wracked her frame.  Yui quickly tossed the blanket over Kiyoko, stunning her momentarily with the blanket's sudden weight.  Kiyoko fought against the blanket until she could pop her head out.  Yui stifled a giggle; Kiyoko's glasses were askew and her hair was a mess.  Yui ran a hand through Kiyoko's hair while Kiyoko fixed her glasses, the two giggling all the while.  Kiyoko turned to relax against Yui, and the two stared at the night sky.

"You okay?" Yui asked.

"That's better," Kiyoko said.

Yui let out a contented sigh, "This is great.  Now we can watch together."

Kiyoko hummed in agreement.  They lapsed into a comfortable silence, just staring at the sky above.  After a while, Kiyoko broke the silence.

"Yui?  I'm really scared.  To tell you the truth, I don't want to go to Laputa."

Yui sat up a bit straighter.  "What do you mean?  Didn't you tell Daichi and Koushi the truth?"

"I didn't lie to them," Kiyoko explained.  "What I said about the light's direction is true.  But what if someone else dies?"

"You mean, like the robot?" Yui asked.

Kiyoko nodded.  "He died to save my life.  I feel awful.  All of this is because of a spell my grandmother taught me.  She taught me all sorts of spells—a spell to use when you're looking for something, a spell to cure sickness.  There's even one she told me I must never use."

"What kind of spell?" Yui pressed.

"The Spell of Destruction," Kiyoko whispered.  "She said that to give power to good spells, I had to know evil ones too.  But she told me never to use them.  I was so scared when I learned that spell, I couldn't sleep."

Kiyoko turned to look at Yui before continuing, "I didn't know the spells were connected to my necklace.  Grandpa Ukai was right when he said it was dangerous for us to misuse the power of the crystal.  And what if Laputa has the same power that can also be used for great evil?  I wish I had thrown the crystal away when I'd had the chance."

Yui wrapped her arms around Kiyoko, pulling her in close.  "If you had, then we never would have met," Yui said.  "And if you had, Laputa would still exist."

Kiyoko looked away, but Yui wasn't done.  She placed a hand on Kiyoko's cheek, turning the other girl's face towards her own.  "Airplanes and flying machines are getting better and better.   You know that some explorer or other would come across Laputa one day and claim it."  She dropped her hand from Kiyoko's face and said, "I can't say I know what's best, but if Laputa has such great power, we can't let it fall into the hands of people like Oikawa.  And, if we run away now, Oikawa is gonna chase us forever."

Kiyoko moved away from Yui, gripping her hands tight in her own.  "But Yui, I don't want you to become a pirate because of me."

Yui laughed, resting her forehead against Kiyoko's, "I'm not gonna become a pirate.  Don't worry, Daichi and Koushi will understand.  They're much nicer than they pretend to be.  And when we've finally found Laputa, I promise we'll go home.  Back to your home."

Yui pulled back, grinning in a way that made Kiyoko's lips tug into a gentle smile.  "I wanna see it all, Kiyoko," Yui said.  "The old house where you were born, the valley, and everything."

Kiyoko's eyes glimmered with unshed tears of joy.  She threw her arms around Yui's neck, pulling her in close.  On the deck below, the crew of the _Karasuno_ —having heard every word through the ship's communication system—collectively sniffled.  A teary-eyed Daichi was in the process of closing off the com system when Yui's voice came through louder than it had been.

"Kiyoko, what's that?  Right there, under the ship.  See it?"

Daichi sprinted from the bridge.  He leaned against the railing and exhaled sharply through his nose.  Rising up through the cloud cover was an enormous shadow.

Yui's voice rang through the com system again, "Captain, it's _Shiratorizawa_!  It's right under our bow!"

As she spoke, the massive warship breached the cloud cover, forcing the Karasuno off course.  As he gripped the railing of the deck, a chilling realization washed over Daichi.  They had caught up to the enemy at last, but the enemy knew they were coming.  Oikawa had set a trap, and they had flown right into it.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Karasuno battles a storm, and Shiratorizawa. Yui has visions of the past, and Laputa is found

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Team! I'm a week late on this, I know. BUT! Here it is, chapter 8! And other good news, I'm changing the update schedule! Chapter 9 will be up tomorrow, and chapter 10 (the last chapter) will be up March 2nd! Whaaaaaaaaaaaat! Since I didn't do much in the way of Femslash February, I decided to finish up "The Earth Speaks to All of Us" as a part of Femslash February. 
> 
> Can you believe how long it's been? I can't. I started this back in August, and look where we are now! Two more chapters to go! Thank you all so so much for your support, you all have been incredible. Stay tuned for tomorrow's update. I can't wait to finish this incredible journey with all of you. Enjoy!

The _Shiratorizawa_ was a lot bigger than Yui had expected it to be.  She gripped the edge of the Crow's Nest tight as the war ship loomed above the smaller _Karasuno,_ illuminating the pirates' ship with blinding floodlights.  Yui couldn't hear much over the roaring of the wind and the whir of the two ships' engines, but she could see the sudden bursts of light as the _Shiratorizawa_ fired round after round at the _Karasuno_.  The _Karasuno_ turned, and then dipped back into the cover of the clouds.  The shells missed the canvas hull, but just barely.  The firing continued for a few seconds more, and then silence fell once more.  They were safe.  For now.

***

Onboard the _Shiratorizawa_ , General Ushijima and Colonel Oikawa were standing inches apart.  Tensions were high, the crew knew that the two men were fed up with each other, but no one could figure out why Colonel Oikawa was _smiling_.

"Why aren't we pursuing the _Karasuno_ , Oikawa?" General Ushijima asked.  "We could eliminate them now before they become an even greater problem later."

"It's useless to look for them in the cloud cover, Ushijima," Oikawa replied.  He gestured to the still glowing crystal and added, "I don't need to need to waste my energy on a wild goose chase.  Besides, we're running right on schedule."

***

Back on the Karasuno, Daichi was busy pouring over the map, trying to figure out if they were still on course for Laputa.

"It was farther north than we figured," he mumbled.  He reached for the ship's com and pulled it towards himself.  "Yui, listen carefully.  Everything will be ruined if we lose track of _Shiratorizawa_.  You've got good eyes, so I want you to watch her and keep us on course."

Yui's voice came through, "How do I do that, Captain?"

"The Crow's Nest can be made into a kite," Daichi explained.  "See the metal handle on the bulkhead?"

"I got it!"

"Turn it clockwise."

Up in the Crow's Nest, Yui crouched by the metal handle.  She lifted a portion of the handle to turn it into a crank, and then began to turn it.  As she worked, Daichi continued to speak.

"Hook it up, then turn the handle.  That'll make the wings open."

Above Yui, Kiyoko helped guide the wing apparatus into an upright position.  Yui got to her feet to help Kiyoko turn the smaller handle and open the wings.

"Extend the wire.  You'll have to get the hang of flying it on your own," Daichi said.  "Kiyoko, are you still up there?"

"Yes," Kiyoko replied.

They could hear Daichi sigh.  "It'd be best if you come down right now."

"Why?" Kiyoko and Yui asked in unison.

"It's dangerous, I don't want you both to get hurt!"

"Captain, I'd rather Yui not do this alone," Kiyoko said.  "I've worked similar machinery before, and I'm used to being at higher altitudes from living in the mountains."

"Kiyoko, maybe the Captain's right-" Yui began.

Kiyoko gave Yui a look over her glasses.  "Yui agrees with me," Kiyoko said without breaking eye contact.

They could hear Daichi laugh on the other end of the line.  "Alright, have it your way.  Once you take off, you'll have to use the phone to communicate."

Kiyoko picked up the nearby phone, slipped the headphones on, and dialed down to the bridge.  "You mean this one?" she asked once Daichi picked up.

Kiyoko could hear Ryuu in the background say something about her being good.  She smiled to herself as she passed the phone to Yui.  As Yui took the phone, Kiyoko took the opportunity to tie her hair back.

Yui pulled on her goggles, placed the headphones on her head and spoke into the receiver, "I think we're all set for takeoff, Captain."

"Anchors away," was the last thing Yui heard before she pulled back on a lever.  The kite launched into the sky, unwinding a spool of wire as it rose.  The wind buffeted the kite as it broke through the cloud cover, but the wire anchoring them to the _Karasuno_ held firm. 

"I don't see them," Kiyoko said, glancing around.

"They must be hiding under the cloud cover," Yui murmured.

Daichi chimed in through the phone, "Perhaps, but they could also be above you.  Keep your eyes peeled."

"Roger that," Yui said.

A sudden updraft slammed into the kite.  Kiyoko hit the floor.  Yui white knuckled the steering column.  Yui and Kiyoko screeched as their vessel began to rock back and forth, threatening to dump them over the side. 

"Hold on tight!" Yui shouted to Kiyoko as she fought to regain control.

Kiyoko sat up and wrapped her arms tight around Yui.  Only one thought crossed her mind, a quiet mantra of, _'Please don't let us die.  Please don't let us die.  Please don't let us die.'_

"What happened?" Daichi asked.

"Nothing, just a gust of wind!" Yui replied, the kite under her control once more.  Her voice softened as she looked back at Kiyoko, "Didn't bother us at all.  We're fine, we'll keep on watching."

Kiyoko got to her feet, her arms still wrapped around Yui's waist. "That was… exciting," she said.

Yui laughed, "I think I've got the hang of this thing now."  Yui grimaced, then spoke into the receiver, "There's a storm ahead."

Kiyoko peered around Yui's shoulder.  Sure enough, a wall of dark gray storm clouds loomed over the brightening horizon.

"Kiyoko, look in my bag.  There should be some rope in there," Yui said.  "Let's tie ourselves together.  This storm's gonna be rough."

"Good idea," Kiyoko said.  Kiyoko dug around in Yui's bag until she found the rope.  She looped it around Yui's waist, tied it off, and then tied is around her own waist.

Down on the bridge, Daichi poured over the map.  They were still relatively on track, by some miracle.  Koushi shoved the door open and moved to stand next to Daichi.

"The mercury's dropping really fact, Captain," Hisashi called from the front.

Koushi groaned, "Blast our luck.  What a rotten time for a storm."

Daichi made his way over to Hisashi and looked at the pressure gauge.  "When is sun-up?" he asked.

"In one hour," Kazuhito replied.

"Hopefully we can last that long," Koushi grumbled.

***

The wind had picked up considerably as the _Karasuno_ drew closer to the storm.  Yui wished she had a second pair of goggles to give to Kiyoko, to protect her eyes against the wind.  She had tried to offer Kiyoko her own pair, but Kiyoko had said that her glasses were sufficient. 

It had been about an hour since they had last communicated with the bridge.  The sun was finally starting to rise, illuminating the dark clouds as it rose in the sky.  However, there was something off about the light, Yui could feel it.

"Something's not right here," Yui murmured.

"The sun's coming up in the wrong place," Kiyoko said.  "We're out of position."

Sure enough, they were flying parallel to the sun, not into it.  "We're supposed to be heading east, not north!  We’re going the wrong way!" Yui exclaimed.  She spoke into the receiver, "Captain!  We're heading north!"

Daichi replied, "What do you mean, heading north?"

Yui could hear Kazuhito in the background shout, "But the compass is pointing east, Captain."

"There's something confusing the compass, and I want to know what it is!" Daichi snapped.

Kiyoko gasped, pointing at a something off of the side of the kite, "There it is!  Look!"

Yui turned to follow Kiyoko's finger.  She stopped, her eyes widening.

"There what is?  Is it _Shiratorizawa_?" Daichi asked.

"No," Yui replied, "it's a cloud.  I've only seen one other like it."

Sure enough, there was the cloud her father had described in his journal.  A gargantuan, singular column of Altocumulus cloud rose up behind the kite.  It was difficult to make out, but Yui could just barely see the cloud shifting, spinning in clockwise and counterclockwise motions in alternating layers.  That was it, it _had_ to be it.

"It's heading right for us!" Kiyoko exclaimed.

Yui could barely hear Daichi shouting over the rush of the wind, "I'm not gonna captain my ship into the eye of a hurricane!  Pull back, pull back, I tell you!"

"All engines reverse!" Koushi yelled.

Below the cloud cover, the _Karasuno_ jerked away from the cloud, buffeting the kite as the ship attempted to turn away.  Yui tugged on the handle to turn the kite away.  It was no good; they drifted closer to the storm.  Yui tried again and again, but there was no changing their course.

"Captain, we're being pulled into the center of the storm," Yui said.

"Sorry, Yui, but we can't help you from down here," Daichi replied.  "You'll have to ride it out.  Good luck!"

Another updraft caught the kite, rocking it backwards and throwing Kiyoko and Yui to the floor.  On the bridge, Kazuhito and Hisashi fought to turn the ship.

"We can't get it to turn!" Kazuhito yelled.

"Put your backbone into it!" Koushi said.

"Captain!" Hitoka's voice rang through the ship's com.  "Captain, the engine can't take it!  Saeko and I are giving it all she's got, but things are getting bad down here!"

"Just do what you can!" Daichi said.  He glanced out the window of the bridge before adding, "Just hold on, it looks like the clouds are breaking up."

The announcement came as no amount of relief to Yui.  As the kite blasted through the clouds, Yui strained to keep her grip on the steering column.  The wind pulled at her clothes and hair, threatening to push her out of the back of the kite.  Kiyoko had hunkered down behind Yui.

Yui glanced off to the side, and then shouted to Kiyoko, "Look, it's the ocean!"

Kiyoko peered over the edge of the kite just enough to see the view below.  The clouds parted, and she was greeted by the sight of teal waters and the _Karasuno_ barely holding her own against the wind.  The clouds swirled above them, growing darker with each passing moment.

"Yui, it's a hurricane!" Koushi shouted into the phone, causing Yui to wince.

"I see it, Sir!" Yui replied.  "We're going in!"

"Are you nuts!?" Koushi asked.

There was a brief scuffle on the other end of the phone before Daichi said, "Yui, no, we're going to reel you two back in."

Yui eyed the swirling mass of cloud.  They were so close now; it was right on top of them.

"It's just like Dad said," she murmured.  "Two winds blowing in opposite directions."

"Captain, it's no use, we'll be sucked in!" Yui could hear Kazuhito yell.

"Captain, Laputa's in there!" Yui said.

"Laputa's where?"

Yui gripped the steering column tighter.  She inhaled, and then exhaled.  "This is the exact kind of storm my father saw, and Laputa's right in the middle of it!"

There was silence on the other end.  It crossed Yui's mind that the connection had been lost before Daichi said, "It can't be, it'd be smashed to pieces!"

Kiyoko tapped on Yui's shoulder.  "Yui, behind us!  It's _Shiratorizawa_!"

Neither Yui nor those onboard the _Karasuno_ had any time to react.  The _Shiratorizawa_ launched a volley of missiles at _Karasuno_ , rocking the ship as shell after shell exploded near her hull.  One missile slammed against the _Karasuno_ 's tailfin, blasting her off course.  Yui glanced down at the smoking tailfin.  She made up her mind; the time to act was now.

"We're going to go into the hurricane," she said.  "My dad made it through alive, and so will we!"

Down on the bridge, Daichi squeezed his eyes shut.  They were caught between a rock and a hard place, but he knew what they had to do.  Into the storm it was.

"Ready, brace yourselves!" Daichi shouted.

Before anything could be done, however, a missile connected with the front of the bridge.  Daichi and the others were thrown back as the beak-shaped bowhead exploded.  Another missile slammed into the back of the _Karasuno_ , taking out one of the engines.  A third missile hit the top, destroying the spool that anchored Yui and Kiyoko to the ship.  The wire snapped, launching the kite into the storm.  Yui and Kiyoko barely had time to prepare themselves as they were swept up into the clouds.

***

Onboard _Shiratorizawa_ , General Ushijima watched as the on-fire _Karasuno_ was sucked into the clouds, his face impassive as ever.  He turned to Colonel Oikawa.  Colonel Oikawa continued to eye the crystal.

"If we don't turn, we'll hit the storm," Ushijima said.

"All ahead full," Oikawa replied without looking up.

The soldier stationed at the steering wheel turned to stare at Oikawa.  "Sir?"

Oikawa sighed, annoyed by the man's hesitation, "The light is pointing to the center of the whirlwind.  Laputa is in that storm."  Oikawa made eye contact with Ushijima before adding, "I won't retreat.  Go straight ahead.  That's an order."

Ushijima felt his lips twitch downward into the slightest of frowns before turning to soldier.  "Full speed ahead, Captain."

The man mumbled a quick, "Yes, General" before complying.  Ushijima turned back to watch Oikawa.  Whatever that man had planned, Ushijima didn't like it in the slightest.

***

The kite tumbled end over end, pushed further into the storm by the wind.  Kiyoko and Yui could do little more than cling to each other.  Yui tugged on the steering column and finally, the kite righted itself.  Yui breathed a quick sigh of relief.

"Are you ready, Kiyoko?"

"Ready."

Yui jerked the steering column to the left.  The kite angled to the side, then dipped further into the storm.  Wind howled and thunder boomed around the pair, deafening them as rain slashed at their faces.  Lightening crackled overhead.  Kiyoko grabbed Yui and squeezed her eyes shut tight. 

Yui forced her eyes to stay open, guiding the kite forward.  She managed to do this for a few minutes before a flash of lightening appeared before her, blinding her for a moment.  Yui squeezed her eyes shut against the blinding light, yelping in alarm.  She ducked her head, then cracked her eyes open once more.  As she opened her eyes more, she realized that they weren't alone.  Just ahead of their kite, a lone airship drifted ahead into the storm.  The airship was comprised of a single, oblong balloon attached to a narrow boat with a propeller at the front.  She had seen a hundred times before, in a sepia toned photograph hanging on the wall of her workshop.  It was her father's airship.

"Dad?" Yui whispered.

Lightening crackled around the kite once more, and the vision of her father's airship vanished.  Yui's eyes burned with unshed tears, and she shook her head to clear them.  With a grunt, Yui urged the kite forward into the inky blackness of the storm until, finally, everything stopped.  The wind, the rain, the darkness, everything ceased; they were in the eye of the storm, and just below, Yui could make out the top of a gigantic tree. 

The kite drifted downwards, no longer held aloft by the wind.  As the kite sailed over the leafy top, the wire below caught on some of the topmost branches.  Anchored, the kite swung towards the ground before landing on a platform.  Kiyoko and Yui lay on the ground, catching their breath as clouds swirled around them; by some miracle, they had survived. 

"Kiyoko, Kiyoko are you alright?" Yui asked, removing her goggles.

Kiyoko got to her knees, adjusting her glasses as she moved.  "I'm alright," she said, "thanks to your expert piloting."

Yui also got to her knees, and then looked around.  "Kiyoko, look," she gasped.

They watched as the wind carried the clouds away, revealing a grassy meadow.  White tulips swayed in the wind, a nearby pond rippled gently.  Birds chirped nearby.  Their eyes widened as moss-covered appeared out of the clouds.  Yui could make out a set of stairs leading down to a bridge.  At the opposite end of the bridge stood a garden, and just beyond that, a white castle.

"Laputa," Kiyoko whispered.

Yui jumped to her feet, jerking Kiyoko up as well.  The two collapsed back down to the ground, fighting to free themselves from the knots Kiyoko had tied around their waists.  Kiyoko mumbled something about her trembling hands having difficulty with the knots.  Without thinking, Yui scooped up Kiyoko.  She ran to the ledge with the other girl secure in her arms, laughing and cheering at the top of her lungs.  Yui stopped, and the pair looked down.  Sure enough, the castle was floating.

"We're here," Kiyoko said.  "We really found it."

The two took a moment to drink in the sight.  Yui, with her arms around Kiyoko's waist, Kiyoko with her arms around Yui's neck.  Yui lowered Kiyoko back to the ground, stared at her for a moment, and then grabbed Kiyoko once more.  She lifted Kiyoko, spinning her around as she cheered, "We found it!  We found it!"  Kiyoko joined in, laughing as Yui spun until the two were dizzy.  They collapsed back onto the grass, out of breath and elated.  They pressed their foreheads together, then flopped onto their backs.  They took a moment to catch their breath.  As they did, they watched a pair of birds fly overhead.

"Do you think birds are the only thing that lives here?" Kiyoko asked.

As the words left her mouth, the sounds of heavy footsteps reached their ears.  Kiyoko and Yui got to their feet as a moss-covered robot—identical to the one from the military fort the day before—crossed the bridge to their field.

"I think he must be here to meet you, Kiyoko," Yui said.

Kiyoko looked at her.  "But I don't have the aetherium crystal."

Yui pulled a pocket knife from her bag and cut the rope joining her and Kiyoko.  The two stepped back as the robot made its way over to the kite.  He scanned the kite, let out a series of chimes, and then grabbed it.

"Hey, wait, you're gonna break it!" Yui shouted in alarm.

"Please, don't break it!" Kiyoko said.  "We won't be able to go home without it!"

The robot looked up, chiming at Kiyoko.  He lifted the kite.  Underneath was a bird's nest with three—thankfully—undamaged eggs.

"That’s why he's here," Yui muttered.  "It must be his job to take care of them."

"I'm glad the eggs are alright," Kiyoko said.

They watched as the robot set the kite down.  He turned to the pair, chiming at them as he made his way back towards the stairs.

"He says to follow him," Kiyoko said.

"How do you know?"

"I just know that's what he said," Kiyoko explained, taking off after the robot.

With a shrug, Yui followed the pair down to the bridge.  There would be time for questions later.  Yui knew that if they followed the robot, she'd get to see something her father only dreamed of—the inside of Laputa.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yui and Kiyoko uncover new parts of Laputa, but their reprieve is short-lived as Ushijima and his troops arrive. Daichi and Koushi discover the underlying tension between Oikawa and Ushijima's orders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Birthday to one of my all time best girls, Shimizu Kiyoko! I've been working on this chapter for a little bit, and I really wanted to get it done for today, so here it is! There's one more chapter to go after this, and I promise it won't take me another year to do it.
> 
> Thanks to everyone who's read, subscribed, bookmarked, commented and left kudos on this fic. This is one of my favorite fics that I've ever written and you all have been such a wonderful support for this incredibly ambitious project. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and I'll see you next time!

Yui and Kiyoko found it difficult to keep up with the robot.  Not because of the robot's significantly longer stride, though that certainly added to the difficulty.  They were far too distracted by the sheer amount of life in the gardens.  Yui had anticipated that the gardens would be overrun with long dead grasses and weeds, but as they moved inward, they were greeted by lush green as far as the eye could see.  The  gardens were well tended to.  The grass along the pathways had been recently cut, the flowers looked healthy.  The only real sign of overgrowth were the vines that snaked their way up the occasional bird bath or statue.

Even more amazing to Yui was the numerous animals hanging around.  A wide assortment of birds perched in the trees, a family of some sort of fluffy creature rested near the banks of a square-shaped lake.  As the robot led Kiyoko and Yui by the pond, the creatures dove into the pond, leaving tiny ripples in their wake.  Yui ran to the edge to watch them swim away, pulling Kiyoko along with her.  Yui looked down and gasped.

"What is it?" Kiyoko asked.

Yui pointed.  "Look!"

The water was clear enough that they could see deep into its depths.  Luminescent fish swam in and out of ruins deep below the surface.  Yui whistled as she realized they were looking at the lower tiers of the castle.

"It looks like a city," she said, crouching low to the ground to get a better look.

Kiyoko glanced towards their robot guide.  It was halfway through a tunnel and was not stopping to wait for them.  Kiyoko helped Yui back to her feet and the two ran after the robot.  Yui tried not to blush; Kiyoko was still holding her hand.  They reached the tunnel, stopping to watch the robot disappear into the jungle of a room at the other end.  The two girls looked at each other and nodded.  They tightened their grips on each others' hands, and with newfound resolve, followed the robot.

This portion of the garden was far more overgrown than the previous parts.  It was much more humid too.  Every tree and structure was shrouded in moss and ivy, the plants on the ground towered over Yui and Kiyoko.  They could hear birds chirping further inside the room.  The two cautiously picked their way through the overgrowth.

"I can't believe we're inside," Yui commented as she helped Kiyoko over a root.

They paused again to take in the room.  Yui was surprised to find that the walls were transparent.

"They're invisible," Yui muttered.

"Maybe this is some sort of green house?" Kiyoko asked.

"Could be," Yui replied.  "I wonder what happened here.  This used to be a city of advanced technology."

Kiyoko offered Yui a shrug in response.  The two continued the robot's tracks in silence, coming across a large bush in the middle of the path.  The tracks seemed to disappear there, covered by the tree's low-hanging, broad leaves.  Yui pushed the leaves aside to reveal a clearing.  Unlike the rest of the greenhouse, the plants were meticulously maintained, save for one giant tree that grew straight up from the center of the greenhouse.  The behemoth played host to all manner of other plants, creeping ivies, delicate white flowers and moss that grew like a blanket on the tree's trunk.  Squinting, Yui could barely make out the robot standing near the base, its metallic body dwarfed by the towering tree.  Yui took Kiyoko's hand once more and led her forward, their gazes locked on the tree's canopy.  The tree itself had grown past the top of the greenhouse, disrupting some of the technology that made the walls transparent.

The two came to a halt next to the robot.  Yui removed her hat as she gazed up at the deep green canopy above her.  Yui couldn't help but feel small compared to the majestic plant.  It was humbling, in a way.  Yui would have been content to stare at the tree for hours, had the slab of glimmering stone inlaid in the tree not caught her attention.  The stone stood about twenty feet tall and another slab of the same stone lay at their feet.  The dark gray stone had the emblem of Laputa etched into its surface along with writing in what Yui assumed to be the long dead Laputian language.

"It must be a monument," Yui  said as she studied the slab.  "I wish I could read what it says."

Kiyoko studied the first slab for a moment, then turned her attention to the one on the ground.  She crouched down to inspect the carved words, but a pale pink flash caught her attention instead.  Resting on the slab were six pink flowers.

"Someone left these flowers," she murmured.  Kiyoko turned to the robot and asked, "Did you leave these here?"

When the robot didn't respond, Yui moved closer to inspect it.  "Wait, this is a different robot," she said.

This robot wasn't the one that had led them through the greenhouse.  This robot was more weather worn, its outer shell almost completely rusted.  A thick layer of moss covered much of the robot's upper body and head.  The greenhouse's grass firmly held its feet in place.  It looked peaceful.

"It looks like it's been frozen there forever," Yui continued as she ran a hand over the robot's surface. 

Her eyes trailed past the robot, spotting another robot in the distance.  This one had been taken over by the tree, the thick, sturdy roots burying all but the robot's moss-covered head and shoulders.  Yui walked over to the robot, counting four others that had also been partially buried by the tree roots.

"They must have been protectors of the garden," Yui said when she returned to Kiyoko.  "And they've kept on guarding the place long after all the people have gone."

Kiyoko opened her mouth to reply, but the sound of approaching footsteps cut her off.  The pair spun towards the sound.  To Yui's relief, it was the robot from before.  It approached them steadily, one of its massive hands cradling something that Yui couldn't quite make out.  The robot chimed at them as it slowed to a halt.  Kiyoko smiled up at the robot, and it let out another chime.  Yui wasn't quite sure, but it sounded pleased with itself.  The robot extended its hand towards Kiyoko, revealing another pink flower held delicately between two massive fingers.

"You picked another flower for the grave," Kiyoko said, lifting the flower from the robot's hand and cradling it against her chest.  "That's very kind of you, thank you."

The robot chimed at Kiyoko again.  It pulled back and watched her place the flower on the stone slab.  Yui's heart fluttered at the interaction between Kiyoko and the robot.  Kiyoko was nothing but kind, and with few exceptions, she carried that kindness through every interaction she had.  That was what Yui liked the best about her, really.  Kiyoko had a big, empathetic heart in spite of—no, because of everything she had been through.  She had been through so much in such a short amount of time, and she still chose love and kindness above all else.

The peaceful moment was brought to a screeching halt by an explosion not fair off.  The greenhouse shook slightly, knocking Yui and Kiyoko off balance.  They grabbed onto each other, waiting for the shaking to stop.  When it did, they sprinted out of the greenhouse, tripping and stumbling over roots in their attempt to find out what happened.  Outside, it was chaos.  Flocks of birds took off from trees, small creatures darted into the safety of the greenhouse.  There was another explosion, closer this time.

"This way," Yui shouted, grabbing Kiyoko's hand and running down a platform to their left.

The girls rounded a corner and ducked under a set of tree roots.  They ran down a large set of stairs as a third explosion ripped through Laputa.  Yui looked back at Kiyoko.  Kyoko had an alarmed look on her face.  They both knew who was responsible for the explosions.  They just wished that they had had more time.  As they raced along the top of an outer wall, the enemy finally came into view.  Down below, the _Shiratorizawa_ had docked along a lower tier of the city.  Hundreds of soldiers filed in and out of the airship, carrying explosives and other equipment into the city.

"They've destroyed this part of the city," Yui growled, rage seething just under her skin.

"Yui, look," Kiyoko exclaimed, "it's the _Karasuno_!"

Sure enough, the pirates' airship had been docked on the lower level as well.  The once proud, bird-shaped airship was in tatters.  Large chunks of canvas had been ripped clean of the ship's hull, the engines were gently smoking.  From their vantage point, neither girl could see the crew.

"I hope Daichi and the others are all right," Kiyoko murmured.

"Me too," Yui replied.  "I can't see them down there, can you?

"No, I can't." Kiyoko said.

Yui looked over the edge of the wall.  About a meter and a half down was another platform.  Yui lowered herself down to it, giving her a better vantage point.  From her new spot, Yui could make out a group of people sitting next to the wreckage of the _Karasuno_.  In the middle of the group sat someone with gray hair.  Yui inhaled sharply; it was Koushi.

"There, they are!" she called up to Kiyoko.  "They've been taken prisoner."

Kiyoko held her hand out to Yui.  Yui grasped Kiyoko's hand and clambered back up the wall as Kiyoko helped pull her up.

"We've got to go help them," Kiyoko said.

"Agreed.  If we don't they'll be killed."

 Kiyoko and Yui ran back down the wall, looking for a way down below.  They had to hurry; their friends' lives depended on them.

***

The dull pounding at the back of Daichi's head was obnoxious, but not as obnoxious as the look on Oikawa's face when one of Ushijima's soldiers returned with the news that they had managed to break into the city.  The soldier had brought some treasure from within the city as well, causing the crew to twitch with barely concealed want.  Ushijima's red haired officer saw the crew's reaction and grabbed a necklace from the pile to wave in their faces.

"Bet this is what you were looking for, huh?" he asked.

"Tendou…" another officer said, his voice weary.

"What?  Just saying, they're going to be seeing a very different kind of necklace soon."

Daichi could feel his crew stiffen at the implication.  He did his best to not let his distress show on his own face.  Instead, he stared straight ahead with a scowl plastered on his face.  His crew needed him to stay strong.

"Tendou, enough," Ushijima said.  Turning to Oikawa, he continued, "Have you radioed a report on Laputa's discovery?"

"I was about to," Oikawa replied.

Daichi wasn't sure, but something about the way Oikawa responded was a little… off.  Ushijima didn't seem to notice, or if he did, it didn't seem to bother him too much.  With a nod, he left to oversee his soldiers' progress.  Oikawa, on the other hand, made no move towards the radio.  Instead, he let out a low chuckle and gestured for his three henchmen to follow in the opposite direction.  As they walked away, Daichi heard Oikawa mutter something to them.

"The perfect thing to throw those fools off the scent."

Once Oikawa was out of sight, Daichi turned to look at Koushi.  Koushi gave the briefest of nods that he had also heard Oikawa.  It was all the confirmation Daichi needed; Oikawa was conspiring against Ushijima.  The question, however, remained: Why?

***

Yui was starting to miss being on solid ground.  Well, solid ground that didn't involve a crumbling castle wall hundreds of meters in the air.  She would, frankly, give anything to be back in the mines.  But as she jumped over a crack in the ramparts and scurried over overgrown tree roots with Kiyoko just ahead of her, Yui knew that now wasn't the time for wishful thinking.  It was the time for action.  But she still wished that each step didn't come with the risk of falling to their deaths.  Especially since Kiyoko no longer had her necklace.

The girls took a sharp right down a set of stairs.  They slowed to a halt, realizing that the stairs ended in an abrupt drop.  Yui peered over the edge.  The _Shiratorizawa_  was docked below them, but there was no direct way down to the platform below.  There was, however, a large root system growing next to them.

"Kiyoko, how good are you at climbing trees?" Yui asked, patting one of the roots next to her.

"I'm not going to like this, am I?" Kiyoko asked in response.

Yui held her hand out to Kiyoko.  "We can not like this together," she said with a grin.  "I have a plan.

Kiyoko returned the grin in full.  She took Yui's hand and the pair stepped onto the nearest root.  Yui dropped Kiyoko's hand in order to scale down the next root.  She watched to make sure Kiyoko followed her exact path.  There was a slight moment of panic when Kiyoko slipped, but Kiyoko managed to keep her grip on the branch.  Yui sighed with relief and continued her descent.  As they moved, Yui could see the roots curve against a window near the bottom of the wall.

"That's where we need to go," Yui said.  "We're almost there."

It took the pair over fifteen minutes to climb down to the window.  The roots near the bottom of the wall were thick enough that they didn't need to worry about their balance.  The girls peered into the window.  To their disappointment, the window didn't lead to an accessible platform.  Instead, it provided them with a view of the soldiers as they pillaged the city.  Yui was shocked at the blatant disrespect Ushijima's soldiers had for Laputa.  They kicked down doors, they blasted apart walls.  Ancient treasures had been stacked in the middle of the room with little care for their delicacy. 

"What a greedy pack of thieves," Yui growled.  

If Yui was mad, Kiyoko was even more so.  Yui could feel Kiyoko vibrating with barely contained rage and sadness at the sight.

"We can't let them destroy the garden, Yui," Kiyoko said.

Yui crouched down below the window ledge, pulling Kiyoko down with her.  It was time for a new plan.

"We have to find the Aetherium crystal," Yui said. 

"What about Daichi and the others?" Kiyoko asked.

"We have to find it," Yui insisted.  "It's the only way to protect the garden.  We can find Daichi and the others after."

Kiyoko turned away from Yui.  Yui knew Kiyoko was in agreement with her, but she needed a little more prodding.

"Right now, I'll bet Oikawa has the power over Laputa."

Kiyoko turned back to Yui, her eyes flashing with concern.

"I was wondering why all of the storm clouds just suddenly disappeared," Yui continued.  "If they hadn't cleared up, the army couldn't have made a landing."

"Do you think it was because of my necklace?" Kiyoko asked.

Yui exhaled, "I don't know, but I think the power of the crystal disintegrated that storm,  and now, the castle has awakened from its sleep for whoever holds  the crystal.  We can't let Oikawa figure out how to use the crystal.  If he does, it will be the end of everything."

"But even if we can get my grandmother's crystal back, how can we use its power?" Kiyoko asked.  "Wait.  The spell!"

"The spell of destruction?" Yui asked.  She thought it over, the nodded, "It may be the only way."

Kiyoko opened her mouth to reply, then froze.  She grabbed Yui's arm and pulled her towards another descending root.  Yui squeaked in reply, but Kiyoko covered her mouth with her hand.  Then Yui heard it, rapidly approaching footsteps.  Kiyoko pointed towards the roots, then released Yui to climb down.  Yui clambered down after her just as a soldier appeared at the edge of a nearby walkway.  Yui swung down into the tunnel just under the walkway, relieved that there had been a place for her and Kiyoko to hide.  Kiyoko seemed relieved too; there really had been no guarantee that the tunnel would be there.  Careful to cause as little noise as possible, Kiyoko and Yui started down the tunnel. 

It was a short tunnel with another network of roots at the end.  This time, however, Yui and Kiyoko could see the _Shiratorizawa_ and the remains of the _Karasuno_.  There was a small walkway just next to the root system that connected to a room below where the crew was being kept.  The interior of the room had collapsed, save for a platform with a column connected to the main floor.  It wasn't ideal, but it would give them a way to climb up to the crew without being seen.  The girls climbed down to the walkway, then ran as quietly as they could to the room.  They paused at the edge.  It was sizeable distance, but Yui was confident that she could make it.

"I'll go first," she said.

"Be careful," Kiyoko replied, giving Yui's shoulder a squeeze.

Yui blushed at the contact, but managed what she hoped was a normal grin.  She took a few steps back, then ran.  She leapt at the edge of the platform and prayed she would make it.  The moment her foot touched the platform, she knew it wasn't stable.  As the floor dropped out from under her, Yui kicked off it.  She lunged for the column, her grip slipping as the floor crumbled and fell back to Earth.  Yui managed to find a sturdy handhold and hauled herself up.  So much for that plan.

"It's okay, I'm okay!" she called to Kiyoko as she pulled herself up the column.

Kiyoko looked around for an alternative route when a familiar voice reached her ears.

"It's around here somewhere," Oikawa said, stepping onto the walkway she and Yui had been on moments before.

Kiyoko pressed herself into a corner, hoping that Oikawa and his men wouldn't notice her and Yui.  She could at least hide a little.  Yui was still scrambling up the column towards what looked like a window, Kiyoko couldn't tell from where she was standing.  Kiyoko peeked around the corner.  Oikawa was holding a small book in his hands, looking between it and the wall at regular intervals.  Kiyoko pulled back into the corner.  She prayed that neither of them would be found, she prayed that they would be safe.

"I know it's around here," Oikawa hissed.

"Are you sure about that?" one of his men—Iwaizumi, Kiyoko believed—asked.

"I'm positive," Oikawa replied.  "Wait."

Kiyoko poked her head around the corner again as Oikawa stopped in front of a section of wall.  He held his hand up to it.  Kiyoko could see the telltale teal light of the crystal emanate from  Oikawa's hand.  For a second, nothing happened.  Kiyoko gasped as the wall suddenly disappeared, leaving a dark hole in its place.  Oikawa's men seemed equally surprised as they crowded around the doorway.  Kiyoko took a step forward, then froze as a shout reached her ears.

_Yui._

Kiyoko turned to watch as the remainder of the column crumbled away from the platform, leaving Yui dangling from the window sill.  Oikawa and his men heard the shout too.  They spun around in time to see Yui pull herself up onto the sill.

"It's one of the girls!" the man with the peach hair shouted.  He drew his gun and fired at Yui, just barely missing her.  Yui shouted in alarm, stumbling backwards through the window and out of sight.

Kiyoko wasn't entirely sure what came over her in that moment, but the idea of Yui getting shoot at filled her with rage.  She ran forward with a shout of her own.  Oikawa and his men were clearly thrown off by Kiyoko's sudden appearance, as none of them had time to react before Kiyoko tackled the peach haired man.  They fell to the ground and the man's gun went off.  Kiyoko felt the bullet whizz by her face and her world went silent save for a high pitched whine.  The ringing in her ears muffled Yui's shout behind her, but she thought Yui shouted her name.

"Hanamaki!" the third man cried.

"M'okay, Mattsun," the man gasped as Kiyoko used him to struggle to her feet.

"Stop right there!" Iwaizumi shouted, pointing his own gun at Kiyoko.

"Don't shoot," Oikawa commanded.

Kiyoko pushed herself forward, stumbling as she ran.  She knew that she couldn't outrun Oikawa, but she had to try.  She was about to round a corner when a hand wrapped around her wrist.  Kiyoko dug her heels into the ground as Oikawa dragged her backwards, but it was no use.  He pulled her in close and smirked at her.

"Well well, looks like we caught a little princess," he said.

Kiyoko tried to pull away, but Iwaizumi grabbed onto her other wrist.  Oikawa and Iwaizumi started dragging Kiyoko back towards the door, lifting her like she weighed nothing.

"Don't hurt her!" Yui shouted from above them.

Kiyoko heard another gunshot, followed by a yelp of pain from Yui and a thud.  Soldiers from the platform above rushed to the edge, alerted to the commotion below by the gunshots.

"Colonel, what's happening?" one of the soldiers yelled.

"We found another pirate," Oikawa called up to them.  "And there's one more hiding under your feet."

Kiyoko watched as Yui pulled herself up to peer out from the window, a smear of blood on her face from where the bullet must have grazed her.  As Oikawa and Iwaizumi pulled her into the tunnel, she grasped the edge.

"Yui, run!" she yelled.

"Kiyoko, I'll find you, I promise!" Yui shouted back.

The last thing Kiyoko saw before the door disappeared was bullets raining down on the window sill and Yui ducking back out of sight.  Then she was plunged into darkness with only the light from her crystal guiding their way into the depths of Laputa.  Kiyoko wanted to be brave for Yui, but as Iwaizumi dragged her along, she found it harder and harder to stop herself from shaking.

 _'I hope Yui will be all right,'_ she thought.  _'Please, be all right.'_


End file.
